The Daily Star, AP, January 07, 2013
A white-cheeked gibbon discovered at the Bangkok airport bound for Dubai (REUTERS) |
JAKARTA,
Indonesia: Four Chinese nationals have been arrested in Indonesia for allegedly
attempting to smuggle hornbill's beaks and pangolin scales for use in
traditional medicines.
Forestry
Ministry official Novianto Bambang says the men were detained Friday with 248
hornbill's beaks and 189 pangolin's skins in their luggage at Jakarta's
Soekarno-Hatta airport. Both animals are listed as endangered.
He said
Monday the four were part of an international trafficking syndicate and they
bought the haul from local poachers on Indonesia's part of Borneo island.
Demand for
endangered animals in traditional Chinese medicines is driving poaching in
countries in Asia and Africa.
Indonesia
is home to 14 of the 57 hornbill species, which are on the brink of extinction
because of deforestation and poaching.
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