Lampung – An attempt to smuggle thousands of illegal birds was successfully thwarted by joint officers on the Tegineneng Toll Road, Central Lampung, on Friday night (October 3, 2025). A total of 4,095 birds without official documents were secured from a minibus with the license plate number B 1594 WNO.

Himawan Sasongko, Head of the Bengkulu KSDA Office, explained that the operation was carried out by a joint team comprising the KSDA Regional III Lampung Section, the Traffic Police Directorate of the Lampung Provincial Police, and Flight Protecting Indonesia’s Birds.

In the operation to thwart the bird smuggling, the police also arrested two people, namely the driver with the initials BS (31) and his assistant IJ (37), both residents of Bandar Lampung City.

“These birds originated from Palembang, South Sumatra, and were to be transported to Bandar Lampung without Animal Health Certificates (SKKH) or SATS-DN documents,” said Himawan on Saturday (4/10/2025).

Details of Seized Animals

Himawan explained that during the inspection, officers found 108 white baskets and 2 brown cardboard boxes containing thousands of birds.

After identification, the seized animals consisted of:

1. Protected animals (52 birds):

* 45 striped magpies

* 7 The King Rumped Sunbird

2. Non-protected animals (4,043):

* 1,715 The Javan warbler

* 1,000 The Ceruk-Billed Bulbul

* 360 The  Grey-Rumped Shama

* 341 The Ornamental Honeycreeper

* 280 The Buffalo Myna

* 160 The Long-Tailed Shrike

* Other species such as The Crested Tit, The Javan Turtle Dove,  The Great Tit  , Babblers, and Satin Flycatcher

Follow-up on Animals and Perpetrators
Thousands of birds were then examined and rehabilitated.

“Most of them were successfully released into their natural habitat in the Wan Abdul Rachman Grand Forest Park (Tahura), Lampung, together with the NGO Flight Protecting Birds and local forest farmer groups,” he said.

Meanwhile, birds not yet ready for release are still being cared for at the Tahura Wildlife Habituation Center until they are deemed healthy.

As for the perpetrators, the case is still under police investigation. They are suspected of violating Article 21 paragraph (2) letter a in conjunction with Article 40A paragraph (1) letters d, e and paragraph (2) letter b of Law No. 32 of 2024 concerning Amendments to Law No. 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation of Living Natural Resources and Their Ecosystems.

“We are committed to taking firm action against any illegal wildlife trade practices and urge the public to join us in preserving Indonesia’s unique wildlife for the sake of ecosystem balance,” he emphasized.

Source: Liputan6.com