In a statement received in Jakarta on Wednesday, head of the Forestry Law Enforcement Agency (Gakkum) for the Maluku and Papua regions, Fredrik E. Tumbel, informed that the case was detected during a cyber patrol.
In early June 2025, the Intelligence Unit of the Forestry Law Enforcement Agency for the Maluku and Papua regions discovered a social media account showing specimens of several protected wild butterflies and beetles.
Following an investigation, the Gakkum, in collaboration with the Southwest Papua Natural Resources Conservation Agency (KSDA), apprehended one suspect, identified as TMB.
Officials seized 170 dead butterfly and beetle specimens from his residence in Manokwari Regency as evidence.
The specimens included three birdwing butterflies (Ornithoptera priamus aureus), 20 whisky butterflies (Pseudonympha swanepoeli), and 147 beetle species.
Birdwing butterflies are endemic to the Arfak Mountains, West Papua, and are critically endangered.
“We urge the public to refrain from buying and selling protected wild animals, whether alive or dead,” Tumbel said.
Investigators named TMB as a suspect in the case on Monday (July 7, 2025). He is currently being held at the West Papua Regional Police detention center.
He has been charged under Article 40A paragraph (1) letter f in conjunction with Article 21 paragraph (2) letter c and/or Article 40A paragraph (1) letter h in conjunction with Article 21 paragraph (2) letter g of Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 32 of 2024 concerning Amendments to Law Number 5 of 1990 concerning the Conservation of Biological Natural Resources and their Ecosystems.
These legal provisions prohibit any individual from storing, possessing, transporting, and/or trading specimens, parts, or goods made from protected animals, or trading protected animals and/or their parts through electronic or other media without a permit.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna Violleta, Aditya Eko Sigit Wicakso
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
