Indonesian police foil illegal trade of pangolin scales

JAKARTA, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian national police have aborted illegal trades involving the scales of about 200 protected pangolins, a police officer said on Wednesday.

The police have captured and detained one person delivering the scales to consumers and another person searching for pangolins, said Brigadier General Nunung Syaifudin, director of certain crimes at the criminal investigation unit of the Indonesian national police.

"The police have successfully uncovered a network of perpetrators exploiting the body parts of endangered animals, namely pangolin scales," Nunung told a press conference.

According to him, the scales have high economic value and can be used as raw materials in the production of traditional medicines and narcotics.

"The evidence successfully confiscated was 30.5 kilograms of pangolin scales, which were believed to have been gathered from 200 pangolins that had been killed," the police officer said.

The scales were sourced from Garut Regency in West Java province, he noted.

The suspects could face a 15-year prison term and be required to pay a fine if found guilty, according to him. Enditem