Dr Noviar Andayani, the Wildlife Conservation Society's Indonesia program director, says the recent jailing of British man George Bush for selling parts of endangered monkeys and leopards from Indonesia, shows illegal animal traders they will meet justice.
"This case is an excellent example of Indonesian and British police forces working together to tackle transboundary illegal wildlife trade and protect Indonesia’s threatened wildlife," she said.
George Bush, 63, from London, UK, was sentenced by the London Metropolitan Police Service in January to 14 months behind bars for illegally importing and selling body parts of endangered primates and leopards from Indonesia on eBay.
Metropolitan Police Service Wildlife Crime Unit chief Grant Miller said authorities are closely monitoring trafficking, particularly via online transactions.
"As the variety of species involved in this case shows, the illegal movement of endangered wildlife is part of an illicit and often cruel trade that Border Force, together with our partners in the UK and internationally, is determined to stop."
Mr Bush’s arrest and subsequent sentencing resulted from a transnational collaboration between the London Metropolitan Police Service, UK Border Force, Indonesia’s East Java Police and Natural Resource Conversation Agency, Interpol and the Wildlife Crimes Unit of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Photo courtesy of London Metropolitan Police. Source: London Metropolitan Police Service
On 11 January, Mr Bush pleaded guilty to offering to sell two leopard skulls, four monkey heads, and 134 primate specimens parts, the London Met reports.
Each of the species on sale are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which collaborates with the IUCN Species Survival Commission to assess the conservation status of species to better protect those that are threatened.
Mr Bush was first arrested by the Met two years ago for the crime. He was arrested on the suspicion of illegally importing endangered species by the Metropolitan Police Service Wildlife Crime Unit and Bexley Borough after the UK Border Force received information about his activities.
Detective Constable Sarah Bailey of the Met's Wildlife Crime Unit urges anyone who sees specimen from protected wildlife for sale to contact police.
"This case shows that strong controls are in place to protect endangered species and the police will take action against anyone found to be trading illegally,” she said.
