March 17, 2026 | 04:04 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Illegal Wildlife Rescue Team of the East Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) unveiled the smuggling of hundreds of birds from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on the early morning of Thursday, March 12, 2026.
In a joint operation with the police, the team discovered the birds hidden under the arriving truck's cargo at Tanjung Perak Port, Surabaya.
A day prior, NTT BBKSDA officers received a report about the suspected wildlife smuggling to Surabaya on the Dharma Rucitra VII vessel. The birds, the report said, were likely loaded and hidden under logistics trucks to avoid inspection.
At the port, four trucks, previously identified by an informant, were targeted for inspection during the operations. Sumpena, who led the operation, said in a written statement that "the initial information we received was quite specific, including the description of the vehicles suspected of transporting the animals."
During the inspection, the team discovered three hidden iron cages underneath the vehicle's cargo. Inside were 209 individual birds of two different species. Among them were one male and two female Green Junglefowl (Gallus varius). The two female birds were found injured on the head. The other cage contained 206 Indian White-eye birds (Zosterops palpebrosus), with 189 live and 17 dead.
Neither bird species is protected wildlife under the existing regulations and neither is listed under the CITES treaty. But shipment and trade of wildlife without proper documents remain under conservation authorities' oversight.
According to Sumpena, wildlife smuggling through sea routes is still quite rampant. "Wild animals loaded into cargo to avoid surveillance is a common method," he said.
Following the discovery, the vehicle drivers were immediately probed by the police, while the birds were transferred to the transit cages of the Wildlife Rescue Unit at the East Java BBKSDA.
Read: Thousands of Songbirds Saved from Smuggling in Bali
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