Indonesia foils 3-ton pangolin scale smuggling to Cambodia
Head of the Forestry Law Enforcement Agency for the Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara Regions, Aswin Bangun, in a statement on Monday, said the arrest was the key to dismantling a larger network.
“The agency is investigating who is the owner, who handled the paperwork, who used the company as an export formality, who facilitated the shipment, and who profited from this smuggling,” he said.
The case began when an inspection at Tanjung Priok Port on February 12, 2026, revealed 3,053 kg of pangolin scales stuffed in a shipping container. Export documents listed the goods as cucumber fish and dried food products, but a physical inspection revealed 99 cartons containing pangolin scales.
Based on the investigation, the case indicates the involvement of several parties in the smuggling chain. This includes collection, storage, processing of export documents, using certain companies as export formalities, and arranging shipments abroad.
Investigators have also identified and pursued the suspected owners.
“The modus operandi, using sea cucumbers and dried food, indicates that the perpetrators attempted to use legal export channels to transport protected animal parts to illegal overseas markets,” he said.
“Therefore, we are strengthening coordination with Customs and Excise, Korwas PPNS of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, and related agencies to ensure this case does not stop with the technical perpetrators,” he added.
The Director General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) at the ministry, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, in a similar statement stated that wildlife protection is a state mandate to safeguard Indonesia’s biological wealth, from the grassroots level to the cross-border trade network.
“The illegal wildlife trade does not start at ports, but rather from hunting in the wild, collecting in the regions, storing, and then entering logistics channels and overseas markets,” he said.
Nugroho added that the government must be present to strengthen routine patrols, secure areas, provide public information, and coordinate with the BKSDA, National Parks Office, forest police, local governments, and other stakeholders.
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Translator: Prisca T, Asri Mayang Sari