Arrested By Police While Selling 12.8 Kg Of Pangolin Scales, 37-Year-Old Youth In Padang Threatened With 5 Years In Prison Fine Of IDR100 Million

West Sumatra Police Head of Public Relations Kombes Satake Bayu with evidence of pangolin scales to be sold by the perpetrator/ANTARA/HO

PADANG - The West Sumatra Regional Police through the Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation arrested a man with the initials RR (37) who is suspected of selling 12.8 kilograms of pangolin scales in Padang City.

The Head of Public Relations of the West Sumatra Police, Kombes Satake Bayu, said the arrest of the suspect was carried out in front of a mosque on Jalan Angkasa Puri, Koto Tangah District.

The arrests were made on May 31, 2022 after officers received information from the public about the activities of the perpetrators who kept, or possessed the skin, body, or other parts of protected animals.

From this information, the personnel of the Tipidter Sub-Directorate IV of the Ditreskrimsus of the West Sumatra Police are looking for the location, the perpetrators, and the evidence of the illegal objects being traded.

"Officers immediately found the perpetrator carrying the pangolin scales at the crime scene, then secured him," he said in Padang, Antara, Thursday, June 9. The perpetrators are said to have sold and marketed the pangolin scales through social media.

During the action, officers secured evidence of 12.8 kilograms of pangolin scales in a sack, a motorcycle, and two mobile phones.

He said the modus operandi of the perpetrators was to trade body parts of protected animals illegally.

There is no mention of the rupiah value of the scales of the exotic animals being traded.

The perpetrators will be charged with Article 40 paragraph (2) in conjunction with Article 21 paragraph (2) letter d of Law Number 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation of Biological Natural Resources and Ecosystems with a maximum imprisonment of 5 years and a maximum fine of Rp. 100 million.