Indonesia police bust orangutan smuggling ring
Trio caught trafficking endangered species thought to have been brutally removed from their jungle habitat
By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA
Police in central Sumatra have arrested three people for smuggling baby orangutans snatched from their natural jungle habitat in Indonesia's northwest.
The primates are from a group that the World Wide Fund (WWF) has described as "critically endangered".
Riau police spokesman Guntur Aryo Tedjo said Tuesday that the suspects -- identified only by their initials -- had been caught with one male and two females destined for the lucrative overseas trade.
"All three have been named as suspects. One of them is a civil servant from Aceh," he told Anadolu Agency.
The traffickers -- arrested in the town of Pekanbaru in Riau province Saturday and now facing five years in prison -- admitted to buying the six to nine-month-olds for 5 million rupiah ($370) each in Aceh in northern Sumatra.
Riau -- in central Sumatra -- is seen as a transit hub for endangered species because of its strategic position and overseas transport links.
"Currently, we are still pursuing both the first seller in Aceh and the buyers in Pekanbaru," Tedjo said. "In Pekanbaru, they sell [baby orangutans] for 25 million [rupiah] each."
WWF-Indonesia coordinator Osmantri -- many Indonesians use only one name -- told media that the hunting of the Sumatran orangutan for collections continues to threaten its sustainability, with traffickers rarely hesitating to kill mothers to steal babies.
"Based on recent research, there are about 3,500 left. Due to the wildlife trade and shrinking forests, the Sumatran orangutan is a very vulnerable species," Osmantri added.
Senja Wahyu Handayani, who is taking care of the stolen babies, described them as highly stressed when they arrived at the clinic.
"It is a long way from Aceh to Pekanbaru," Kompas.com reported her as saying, adding that they had been transported in a small plastic cage.
"Their diapers were filled with feces and their cage soaked in urine."
Handayani underlined, however, that the trio were already settling in at the center.
"Once treated, they just wanted to eat, drink and play," she said.
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