Govt hunts animal smuggler from KL

YOGYAKARTA: The Ministry of Forestry is tracking down an international animal smuggler from Malaysia who is believed to be in Greater Jakarta.

He is suspected of serious collusion with local officials at the ministry in supplying wild animals to be sold overseas, the ministry's illegal logging eradication center head, Transtoto Handhadari, alleged on Thursday.

He added that the smuggler's identity would be disclosed soon.

Transtoto also reported that the government was negotiating the return of 45 orangutans smuggled to Thailand's Safari World. "It is an attractive illegal business, because each orangutan could be worth US$40,000," he suggested.

Currently, there have been 218 orangutans returned to a rehabilitation center in East Kalimantan, 367 in Central Kalimantan (132 of which have been released) and 48 in Jambi (33 released). --JP