Police, DENR nab wildlife traffickers in Quezon

LUCENA CITY—Police and agents of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) arrested suspected wildlife traffickers while transporting endangered bird and animal species from Palawan on Sunday night, police said.

Lawmen, led by Insp. Nephtali Mendoza and staffers of the DENR wildlife division, acted on a tip from an informant and intercepted an Isuzu Elf that was being used to transport assorted rare and endangered birds placed in steel cages in the coastal village of Dalahican past 8 p.m. on Sunday, according to Supt. Allen Rae Co, this city’s police chief.

Police arrested spouses Roderick and Ester Gabilaga, Jason Esparagoza and Jeremias Paroco, all residents of Palawan.

Co said the DENR operatives identified the seized wildlife as consisting of 173 Myna birds, 3 Blue Naped parrots and 5 Palawan river otters—all classified as endangered species—and 2 Palawan Horn Bill, tagged as a vulnerable species.