Suspect charged and manhunt continues over Jakarta 3-ton pangolin scales case

Suspect charged and manhunt continues over Jakarta 3-ton pangolin scales case
July 11, 2026

LATEST NEWS

Suspect charged and manhunt continues over Jakarta 3-ton pangolin scales case


JAKARTA — Indonesian authorities have charged one person and are pursuing at least two others in connection with one of the country’s largest wildlife trafficking cases, following the seizure of around $10 million worth of pangolin scales earlier this year. On Feb. 18, customs inspectors found 3,053 kilograms (6,731 pounds) of pangolin scales hidden in a shipping container at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port, bound for Cambodia. The goods were declared as sea cucumbers in customs clearance documents. To date, police have detained only one suspect, identified as Tonni, who has been detained on remand in Jakarta, according to Bambang Ari Wibowo, investigator at Indonesia’s forestry ministry. “From the outset Tonni has confessed to knowing that the goods to be shipped were pangolin scales,” Bambang told Mongabay Indonesia in late June, adding that witnesses had corroborated this allegation. Prosecutors have filed charges against Tonni under Indonesia’s wildlife conservation law with illegally trading a protected species, an offense carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison as well as a fine ranging from 200 million to 5 billion rupiah (about $11,000 to $276,000). In addition, investigators continue to determine whether two companies, PT Viena Trans Mandiri (VTM) and PT Temu Satu Rasa (TSR), the export agencies behind the shipment, should face further action. Mongabay Indonesia previously visited the registered address of TSR in Central Jakarta, but could find only an apparently vacant commercial premise next to a hair salon. A VTM representative declined to comment when eventually reached by phone. A…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Share this post:

POLL

Who Will Vote For?

Other

Republican

Democrat

RECENT NEWS

Can a photo save orangutans?

Can a photo save orangutans?

Once endangered, Australia’s numbat is making a hopeful recovery

Once endangered, Australia’s numbat is making a hopeful recovery

Restoring Kashmir’s lakes one community at a time: Interview with Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo

Restoring Kashmir’s lakes one community at a time: Interview with Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo

Dynamic Country URL Go to Country Info Page