On Monday (Aug 21), West Kalimantan forest rangers and police arrested a suspect, identified only as Tar, on suspicion of selling two baby orangutans on Instagram.
The 19-year-old suspect was arrested at his house in a neighborhood in West Kalimantan, where two orangutans were found in a basket in the garage. The investigation into Tar, who had offered to sell a 10-month-old female and a one-year-old male orangutan on his Instagram account, began after the police received a tip-off about the Instagram post.
During investigations, Tar told police that he had long been selling various endangered animals, such as orangutans and the Kalimantan grey gibbon on online platforms or face-to-face transactions.
Tar added that he had obtained the baby orangutans from a “supplier” in Sintang regency, which borders Malaysia, before trying to sell each infant orangutan for Rp 3.5 million (US$262).
This excerpt from a news article appeared in and is courtesy of The Straits Times and can be viewed in its entirety here.
