• A spot inspection of a 20-foot container by customs authorities at Indonesia’s largest port in late February uncovered more than $10 million in pangolin scales.
• There are eight species of the herbivorous pangolin, all categorized as threatened due to habitat loss and poaching, which is largely to supply raw material for Chinese traditional medicine, despite the total absence of any scientific proof of medicinal benefit.
• Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry and the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Indonesia’s premier forestry faculty, estimate that every kilogram of pangolin scales requires the death of up to five pangolins.
• Separately, a police officer convicted last year over a scheme to trade 1.2 metric tons of pangolin scales stolen from a police evidence room had his nine-year sentence reduced to seven on appeal.

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JAKARTA — Customs inspectors at the Indonesian capital’s main port uncovered more than 3 metric tons of pangolin scales in a shipping container bound for Cambodia in late February, in one of the largest seizures of the critically endangered mammal in years.

“We are committed to tightening export controls and taking firm action against any violations that threaten wildlife sustainability and harm the state,” Adhang Noegroho Adhi, the head of the Customs and Excise office at Tanjung Priok Port, said in a statement announcing the investigation in March.

Pangolins are the only mammals covered head to toe in scales. This armor offers protection in the wild, but makes pangolins easy prey in a global wildlife trade worth up to $23 billion annually.

The mammal’s scales, which are made from the same protein as human hair and nails, are prized by traditional healers in China and parts of Southeast Asia, despite the scales possessing no scientifically proven medicinal benefits.

Adhang Noegroho Adhi, head of Tanjung Priok customs and excise office, at a press conference in March. Image by Tanjung Priok Customs Public Relations.

On Feb. 18, officials became suspicious of a 20-foot shipping container after reviewing documentation provided by the exporter, PT TSR. According to the consignment document, the container held only sea cucumbers and instant noodles.

However, a scan of the container showed three separate storage areas, raising suspicions of unreported goods inside. Officials then began an inspection of the crate.

Inside, they found 99 boxes containing dried pangolin scales, weighing a total of 3,053 kilograms (6,731 pounds). The customs office valued the consignment at 183 billion rupiah ($10.7 million).

Authorities had made no arrests at the time of writing.

“We are still investigating in order to identify the parties involved,” Niko Budhi Darma, a senior customs official, said on March 10.

Shahnaz Dinda, coordinator of wildlife nonprofit Garda Animalia, said the operation last month in Tanjung Priok was one of the largest seizures in recent years. In 2019, customs officers in neighboring Singapore seized 12.9 metric tons of pangolin scales from West Africa, valued at around $40 million.

“This shows that the illegal hunting and trade of pangolins in Indonesia is still taking place on a large scale,” Shahnaz told Mongabay Indonesia.

Officers display pangolin scales seized from a shipping container bound for Cambodia in March. Image by Tanjung Priok Customs Public Relations.

Large scale crime

All eight known species of pangolin are listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List. They’re also listed in Appendix I of CITES, the global wildlife trade convention, which bans all international trade in the animals.

Researchers from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, a prominent university just outside Jakarta, and Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry estimate each kilogram of pangolin scales represents as many as five dead animals. The seizure of more than 3 metric tons implies perhaps 15,000 pangolins were slaughtered.

In Indonesia, pangolins are protected under a 2018 list of protected species, and a 1990 conservation law.

Garda Animalia’s Shahnaz pointed to previous discoveries where pangolin scales were disguised or not declared in shipping consignments.

Customs authorities face significant challenges in uncovering wildlife crimes at ports, Shahnaz added, particularly with regard to inert goods like pangolin scales.

“There was once a case where pangolin scales were disguised as raw crackers, because on first look they appear quite similar,” Shahnaz said.

Civil society researchers have called for increased efforts to crack down on the illegal supply chain, from the hunters of the critically endangered pangolins up to the organized criminals running the trade.

“In addition, we urge that all confiscated pangolin scales be destroyed in a transparent manner to prevent potential misuse,” Annisa Rahmawati at environmental group Geopix told Mongabay on March 7.

In a separate case, a police officer convicted last year over a scheme to trade 1.2 metric tons of pangolin scales stolen from a police evidence room had his sentence reduced on appeal in late February. The North Sumatra High Court lowered Alfi Hariadi Siregar’s term to seven years from nine previously imposed by the Kisaran District Court.

Alfi was tried separately to two soldiers, M. Yusuf and Rahmadi Syaputra, who both received only a one-year custodial sentence for their part in the conspiracy after their conviction by a military court.

Vania Erlangga, legal division lead at Garda Animalia, said the men’s crimes should have been treated differently to offenses committed by civilians, and that the soldiers should have stood trial in a civilian court.

“The involvement of state officials in environmental crimes should be an aggravating factor in all stages of the legal process,” Vania said.

Tanjung Priok customs officials inspect pangolin scales found in a shipping container at Indonesia’s main port in February. Image by Tanjung Priok Customs Public Relations.

Banner image: Officers display pangolin scales intended for smuggling into Cambodia. Image by Tanjung Priok Customs Public Relations.

This story was first published here in Indonesian on March 15, 2026. Additional reporting by Ayat S. Karokaro in North Sumatra.