MEDAN, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities said Tuesday they have foiled a plot to smuggle more than a ton of endangered pangolin scales worth over a million dollars.
The 1.2 tons of scales worth $1.3 million were found Nov. 11 in Asahan district of North Sumatra province and apparently were meant to be sent to China via Malaysia and Singapore, said Rasio Ridho Sani, director general of law enforcement at the environment ministry.
Sani told a news conference that four suspects, including three army members, were found with some of the scales and will be charged with illegal possession of carcasses of protected animals. He said further investigation led to the recovery of the rest of the scales at a house owned by one suspect in Asahan.
The four men, if found guilty, face up to 20 years in prison and $314,000 in fines.
Sani estimated that the scales come from at least 5.900 dead pangolins.
Demand for pangolin scales and meat has led…
