Pangolin Scale Smuggling Worth Hundreds of Billions Uncovered

Customs at Tanjung Priok uncovered a smuggling case of 3 tonnes of pangolin scales destined for Cambodia, valued at hundreds of billions of rupiah. The 3,053 kilograms of pangolin scales have an estimated selling price of around Rp 60 million per kilogram, bringing the total value to about Rp 183 billion, said Adhang Noegroho Adi, head of Tanjung Priok Customs, at a press conference at the Tanjung Priok Customs office, North Jakarta, Wednesday (4/6). The shipment was allegedly from a company, and officers initially suspected the container because the goods did not match the Export Goods Notification (PEB). ‘From there we analysed the export notification declared by PT TSR, which reported two goods: sea cucumber (teripang) and instant noodles (mie instan),’ he said. The customs officers found irregularities as some items were not reported in the PEB, detected by the scanning equipment. ‘There were three compartments/sections detected, suggesting undeclared goods in the export. So from the image and our analysis we probed further,’ he added. The Customs issued an intelligence note. Adhang suspected that this was done as an attempt to circumvent export bans or restrictions. ‘Subsequently, the next step involved a physical examination of the suspicious container, a single 20-foot container on 18 February 2026, and the results showed that the quantity and types of goods did not match the documents,’ he said. Officers found 99 dry animal scales of various sizes. There were pangolin scales, 51 bags of sea cucumbers with total weight 1,530 kilograms, and instant noodles 300 cartons with total weight 1,200 kilograms, as well as a piece of item resembling a piece of wood, indicating undeclared goods amounting to 3,053 kilograms of animal scales,’ he said. The Customs then coordinated with Jakarta’s Balai Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam (BKSDA). Adhang stated that BKSDA’s examination showed that the scales belonged to pangolins, a protected species. ‘Additionally, pangolins are wildlife under protection by law as listed in the Appendix of the Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. P.106 of 2018, item 84. Following this, coordination was carried out and an investigation into PT TSR’s export was conducted,’ he added.