Dozens of Monitor Lizards and Snakes Smuggling Foiled in Sorong, Papua

TheIndonesia.id - The West Papua Province Natural Resources Conservation Center (BBKSDA) together with the Sorong City Police thwarted an attempt to smuggle protected wildlife at Domine Eduard Osok Airport, Sorong City, Wednesday.

The wild animals that were rescued were 29 blue-tailed monitor lizards, 5 cape flower monitor lizards, 21 blue-spotted tree monitor lizards, 37 green monitor lizards, and 4 Maluku monitor lizards. In addition, one Papuan lizard, 17 green pythons, one ground boa, one Papuan python, 30 D'Alberthis pythons, and 11 tree boas.

The evidence of dozens of reptiles was immediately secured by West Papua BBKSDA officers for data collection and health checks before being handed over to the police for further legal proceedings. Head of Criminal Investigation Unit of Sorong City Police, First Inspector Ach Elsyarif Martadinata confirmed that the police together with the West Papua BBKSDA managed to thwart the attempt to smuggle dozens of wild animals out of West Papua through Domine Eduard Osok Airport, Sorong city.

Dozens of reptiles are currently in the West Papua BBKSDA for data collecting on which reptiles are protected and which are not protected for further legal proceedings.

The police will carry out legal proceedings against the perpetrators, both those who sent the reptiles and those who ordered them to be sent. "We are also still investigating the involvement of people in airport officials in this smuggling effort," Martadinata said.