Riau Police Flooded with Floral Tributes After Uncovering Headless Sumatran Elephant Case
Floral tributes from wildlife enthusiasts lined the Riau Police Headquarters following the disclosure of a Sumatra elephant murder case in Tesso Nilo, Ukui District, Pelalawan Regency. The community backed the Riau Police’s firm move to arrest those involved in the wildlife crime syndicate.
Detikcom observed at Mapolda Riau, Pattimura Street, Pekanbaru, on Wednesday 4 March 2025, that the floral tributes stretched across the grounds of the Riau Police. The tributes came from artist Melanie Subono to wildlife lovers.
‘Congratulations and success to Riau Police Chief Inspector General Herry Heryawan on the start of protection for elephants,’ read the bouquet dedication from Melanie Subono.
The same support was expressed by the ‘Cinta Satwa Riau’ community through a floral board.
‘Congratulations to Riau Police Chief Inspector General Herry Heryawan on the success of uncovering the perpetrators of crimes against Sumatran elephants,’ the Cinta Satwa Riau community said.
Meanwhile, groups within ‘Pekanbaru Dog Lovers’ also expressed appreciation to Inspector General Herry Heryawan in a bouquet reading ‘Thank you, Riau Police Chief Inspector General Herry Heryawan, for protecting the Sumatran elephants.’
15 Suspects Arrested
The Riau Regional Police arrested 15 suspects and named 3 others on a wanted list in the Sumatra elephant poaching case in Ukui, Pelalawan. Of the 15 suspects, there is one principal suspect with the initials FA (62), who played a major role in trading elephants and other wildlife in Indonesia.
Riau Police Chief Inspector General Herry Heryawan said the suspects hunted the Sumatran elephants to extract and sell their tusks.
‘In the charge, FA acted as the financier, tusk buyer, owner of ammunition, and also the tusk cutter,’ Heryawan said at a press conference at Mapolda Riau on Tuesday 3 February.
Of the 15 suspects arrested, eight were part of networks in Riau and West Sumatra who acted as executors, slicing the elephant heads, shooters, financiers, tusk buyers, and intermediaries in illegal gun sales. They were RA (31), JM (44), SM (41), FA (62), HY (74), AB (56), LK (43), SL (43).
Additionally, the police arrested 7 suspects in the Jakarta, Surabaya, Kudus, and Solo areas. They acted as intermediaries and tusk buyers for use in making cigarette pipes. The seven suspects were AR (39), AC (40), FS (43), ME (49), SA (39), JS (47), and HA (42).
Meanwhile, the police have named 3 suspects on the wanted list (DPO), initials AN, GL, and RB. They acted as shooters, tusk cutters, and tusk buyers.
Tusk Used to Make Cigarette Pipes
The Riau Police disclosed an economic motive behind the elephant-poaching syndicates. They took the tusks to be sold for the manufacture of cigarette pipes.
‘To smoke, these tusks moved through several hands, selling for up to Rp 130 million,’ said the head of the Riau Police’s Criminal Investigation Directorate, Kombes Ade Kuncoro, on Wednesday 4 March 2026.
Ade explained that the hunters led by FA (62) seized a 7.6-kilogram tusk from the PT RAPP concession area in Ukui District on 25 January 2026.
‘The executor, the suspect initialled AN (DPO), shot a single elephant twice directly in the head. After that, he and suspect RA cut part of the elephant’s head with an axe and a knife to retrieve the tusks,’ he said.
AN and RA cut the tusks from around noon until 20:00 WIB. The 7.6 kg tusk was then handed to suspect FA in Pangkalan Lesung District in exchange for Rp 30 million.
Kuncoro said the network operated very neatly with roles divided along changing delivery routes to break traces. The suspect FA cut the tusks into four pieces and sent them to suspect HY in Padang, West Sumatra, via travel services.
‘The suspect FA sold to HY for Rp 76 million,’ he added.