Komodo Trade Case Uncovered, Sales Value Reaches Hundreds of Millions

Evidence of Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) is kept in a cage during the revelation of the wildlife trade case at East Java Regional Police headquarters in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday (15/4/2026). The East Java Police’s Criminal Investigation Directorate successfully foiled the trade of Komodo dragons and protected wildlife that was to be smuggled through Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya. The Komodo trade had been carried out multiple times from January 2025 to February 2026. A total of 20 Komodo dragons were successfully traded, with 17 of them sold abroad, while three others were thwarted by the East Java Police’s Criminal Investigation Directorate. The smuggling of Komodo dragons to Surabaya was done using PVC pipes as cover. One juvenile Komodo dragon in Thailand or Malaysia is valued at US$35,000, or approximately Rp500 million when converted to rupiah. In the enforcement of the Komodo and protected wildlife trade case, police arrested 13 suspects and secured various pieces of evidence, including three Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis), 13 Talaud cuscus (Ailurops melanotis), three Temung cuscus (Strigocuscus celebensis), four green tree pythons (Morelia viridis), one black kite (Milvus migrans), and 140 kg of pangolin scales (Manis javanica).