- Indonesian authorities have charged one person and are pursuing at least two others, including a Vietnamese national, after customs officials seized 3 metric tons of pangolin scales worth an estimated $10 million at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port in February.
- The goods — one of Indonesia’s largest known wildlife trafficking seizures — were concealed in a shipping container bound for Cambodia and likely comprised around 15,000 dead pangolins, all eight species of which are threatened with extinction.
- Indonesia’s forestry ministry said investigators are continuing to look into the involvement of two companies involved in arranging the customs clearance and export.
- Wildlife conservation nonprofit Geopix said the case should remain open until investigators have established the actors behind the shipment, widely suspected to be the work of a transnational organized trafficking ring.
JAKARTA — Indonesian authorities have charged one person and are pursuing at least two others in connection with one of the country’s largest wildlife trafficking cases, following the seizure of around $10 million worth of pangolin scales earlier this year.
On Feb. 18, customs inspectors found 3,053 kilograms (6,731 pounds) of pangolin scales hidden in a shipping container at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port, bound for Cambodia. The goods were declared as sea cucumbers in customs clearance documents.
To date, police have detained only one suspect, identified as Tonni, who has been detained on remand in Jakarta, according to Bambang Ari Wibowo, investigator at Indonesia’s forestry ministry.
“From the outset Tonni has confessed to knowing that the goods to be shipped were pangolin scales,” Bambang told Mongabay Indonesia in late June, adding that witnesses had corroborated this allegation.
Prosecutors have filed charges against Tonni under Indonesia’s wildlife conservation law with illegally trading a protected species, an offense carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison as well as a fine ranging from 200 million to 5 billion rupiah (about $11,000 to $276,000).
In addition, investigators continue to determine whether two companies, PT Viena Trans Mandiri (VTM) and PT Temu Satu Rasa (TSR), the export agencies behind the shipment, should face further action.
Mongabay Indonesia previously visited the registered address of TSR in Central Jakarta, but could find only an apparently vacant commercial premise next to a hair salon.
A VTM representative declined to comment when eventually reached by phone. A person contacted via a phone number listed for TSR, who declined to identify themselves, denied knowledge of the trafficking in pangolin scales.
“This case is clear — the main suspect has been identified,” a man said on the phone, but declined to provide his name.
“If we find elements of intent or even negligence that meet the criteria for a crime, we will certainly escalate the investigation, and won’t rule out the possibility of there being further suspects,” Bambang said.
Investigators are seeking two men believed to have organized the pangolin scale shipment. One failed to respond to repeated summons and was no longer living at his registered address, while the whereabouts of the second remain unknown, according to Bambang.
Investigators say the latter man is believed to be a Vietnamese national, and that he would have greater knowledge of the operation. The forestry ministry has requested cooperation with police in Jakarta to locate at least one of the suspects.
Detectives allege Tonni received up to 30 million rupiah ($1,660) to help organize the shipment of the wildlife contraband, valued at around $10 million on the black market.
“Tonni only handled the shipping and couldn’t explain where the items came from,” Bambang said.
The 3-ton case follows other significant pangolin trafficking raids this year, including a 780-kilogram (1,720-pound) seizure by the Indonesian Navy.
All eight known species of pangolin are classified as threatened on the IUCN Red List and are protected under Appendix I of CITES, the global wildlife trade convention, which prohibits all international commercial trade in the animals.
Researchers at Indonesia’s Bogor Institute of Agriculture and the forestry ministry estimate each kilogram of pangolin scales represents perhaps five animals, suggesting that around 15,000 pangolins were killed for the 3 metric tons of scales seized in February.
In Indonesia, the critically endangered Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) is protected under the country’s 1990 conservation law and the 2018 list of protected species.
“It’s clear that this was not merely an isolated act that can be reduced to charging one person,” said Annisa Rahmawati, wildlife campaigner at wildlife conservation nonprofit Geopix. “The challenge facing investigators is to uncover the wider network.”
Banner image: Tanjung Priok Customs officers inspect pangolin scales intended to be smuggled to Cambodia. Image courtesy of Tanjung Priok Customs.
This story was first published here in Indonesian on July 5, 2026.
Jakarta port authorities seize 3 tons of pangolin scales in Cambodia-bound container
Jakarta port authorities seize 3 tons of pangolin scales in Cambodia-bound container
Cite this article
Anggita Raissa (2026). Suspect charged and manhunt continues over Jakarta 3-ton pangolin scales case. Mongabay Conservation news. DOI: https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323045Credits
