Smuggled Indonesian wildlife worth P50M seized in Davao Oriental

DAVAO CITY — Authorities on Monday seized over P50 million worth of Indonesian wildlife in an entrapment operation against suspected animal smugglers in Mati City, Davao Oriental, some 183 kilometers southeast of here, police on Tuesday said.

Lt. Col. Adolfo Eyan, Mati City police chief, said the joint operations led by the National Bureau of Investigation-Environmental Crime Division, local and provincial police, the Army’s 28th Infantry Battalion and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) also resulted in the arrest of Jomar Toledo, 34, and Rompas Lumakore, 25, both of Calumpang, General Santos City.

Eyan said authorities seized some 400 species of Indonesian wildlife such as birds, porcupines, insects, among others, during the entrapment operation at Sitio Manguihay, Barangay Dahican around 4 p.m. on Monday.

“The animals, many of them unfamiliar even to the DENR personnel, were contained in 40 cages of different sizes,” Eyan told the Inquirer by phone.

He said the arrested suspects identified themselves as caretakers of the seized wildlife.

Based on the animal droppings found in the area, police estimated the suspects could have just arrived there not more than a month ago.

As DENR estimated the value of the seized wildlife to range from P50 million to P200 million, police suspected the smuggled wildlife were to be sold at the black market, Eyan said.

He said the seized animals were now under the custody of DENR-Mati under tight guard by a team of the city police’s Special Weapons and Tactics.

Charges were being readied against the suspects who were now under NBI custody, Eyan said. /lzb