Forestry Ministry foils trade of 190 wild birds at Surabaya port

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4 hours ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Forestry Ministry foiled an alleged wildlife trafficking attempt involving 190 wild birds at Jamrud Port in Surabaya, East Java, and arrested a suspect.

Aswin Bangun, head of the ministry’s Forestry Law Enforcement Agency for Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara, said officers seized 186 Greater Green Leafbirds (Chloropsis sonnerati) and four Olive-winged Bulbuls (Pycnonotus plumosus) during an operation on Aug. 29, 2026.

“This demonstrates the importance of monitoring animal movement routes, not only at their origin but also when they are transported to other areas. We will continue to strengthen supervision with regional stakeholders to prevent the transportation of animals without proper documentation from the outset,” Bangun emphasized in a statement on Thursday.

He explained that the seizure followed routine surveillance on Aug. 29 by officers from the Tanjung Perak Animal Quarantine Center at Jamrud Port, who discovered suspicious cargo containing protected wildlife lacking quarantine documents and transport permits.

The findings were handed over to the Ministry of Forestry’s Law Enforcement Agency, which secured the birds and detained the suspect.

Officers later arrested a suspect identified by the initials SA (45), a resident of Jember District, East Java. SA was named a suspect on Aug. 31, 2026, and is being held at the East Java Regional Police’s Directorate of Detention and Evidence (Tahti) Detention Center.

Bangun said the suspect is accused of storing, possessing, caring for, transporting, and/or trading protected wildlife without proper documents or permits.

In the same statement, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, director general of Forestry Law Enforcement, emphasized that wildlife trade must be tackled as a supply chain from source to market.

“Forestry law enforcement will continue to strengthen its ability to identify wildlife trafficking patterns, including by utilizing field information and digital platforms. We must address every link in the illegal trade chain to ensure wildlife remains in its natural habitat,” Nugroho said.

He urged the public not to purchase, keep, or trade protected wildlife illegally, noting that tips regarding wildlife hunting or trafficking can be submitted to pengaduan.gakkum@kehutanan.go.id.