On March 1, a FLIGHT investigator travelled to Curup, Bengkulu to investigate illegal trade in wild birds. The Investigator gathered information about the location, route and type of vehicles which would be used to smuggle birds.

The investigator informed the team that on March 2, wholesalers would transport birds from Curup, Bengkulu  to Bandar Lampung. A car transporting the birds would arrive in Lampung on the morning of March 3.

On March 2, the team, led by Marison Guciano, moved to North Lampung to intercept the smugglers, before they arrived at Bandar Lampung.

When the team is on its way to North Lampung, the team saw several people putting together dozens of crates on a bus that had stopped on the freeway. It was travelling from Bandar Lampung to Jakarta. The team immediately followed a bus that was moving towards the Port of Bakauheni, South Lampung.

The team alerted the police and quarantine at Bakauheni Port to inform them that a bus carrying illegal birds would soon arrive at the port. The bus was stopped and thousands of birds were found in a hidden compartment under the bus.

This rescue effort is supported by funds provided by Wildlife Reserve Singapore, Animals Asia, and Change for Animals and Rainforest Rescue

The team continued its journey to North Lampung, enlisting the help of Lampung Natural Resources Conservation Unit and the North Lampung Police. Together, we stopped the car and recovered 87 birds.

Thousands of rescued birds from these two confiscations include Ashy Tailorbirds (Orthotomus ruficeps), Cinereous tit (Parus cinereus), Yellow-bellied bulbul (Alophoixus phaeocephalus), Blue-winged Leafbird (Chloropsis cochinchinensis), Greater Green leafbird (Chloropsis sonnerati) and Asian bluebird (Irena puella).

The birds were released into the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park after undergoing a health check