Bandarlampung, Ekuatorial – Bakauheni port police confiscated 41 Asiatic softshell turtles (amyda certilaginea) with no official documents, said an official, in Bandarlampung, on Wednesday (25/3).
Feria Kurniawan, head of Bakauheni Port Police, said that they were found at the back of a white truck with police number BH 8888 GU from Jambi headed to Jakarta.
“Normally, each vehicles coming to Bakauheni port will be checked to anticipate drug smuggling [attempts] instead we found those animals still alive,” said Kurniawan.
Furthermore, he said that the truck driver, Syafriyanto, admitted that he transported those animals from an expedition warehouse belong to CV Cinta Saudara Jambi for Rp 7.3 million (US$ 1.5 billion).
“We will hand this finding to the authority, especially to Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA),” he said adding that local police had arrested the driver for further investigation.
“The arrest is based on the 1990 Law on Biodiversity which required official documents [for these animals] that they didn’t have,” he said.
Meanwhile, head of Lampung Natural Resources Conservation Agency, Subakir, said that turtles were not protected by the law. Those animals, he said, will be released back to the wild. Eni Muslihah