Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian authorities on April 15 announced they had dismantled a major wildlife trafficking network, arresting six suspects accused of illegally transporting Komodo dragons, the world’s largest lizard species currently facing the threat of extinction.
Two suspects were arrested in February in the port city of Surabaya on the east coast of Java Island as they got off a ship with three live Komodo dragons. Further investigation led to four more arrests in the weeks that followed.
Police said the animals had been obtained from "suppliers or hunters" in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province, where they are native to a handful of small islands.
The suspects are accused of buying the dragons for 5.5 million IDR (about 320 USD) apiece and selling them for six times the price, apparently to be shipped to clients in Thailand.
According to East Java police, the suspects have smuggled and traded at least 20 Komodo dragons since January last year, and pocketed some 33,000 USD. They face up to five years in prison and a fine.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the Komodo dragon as endangered, with a global population of about 3,400, including juveniles. The fearsome reptiles, which can grow to three metres in length and weigh up to 90 kg, are threatened by human activity and climate change destroying their habitat. Poachers collect them to be sold as pets or display animals./.
