A Russian tourist was arrested while he was trying to smuggle an orangutan

Indonesian authorities have arrested a Russian tourist who tried to smuggle a orangutan on the tourist island of Balisaid a conservation officer Sunday.

Andrei Zhestkov, 27 years old, was arrested Friday at Bali International Airport after customs officers They found a 2-year-old orangutan sedated in a basket rattan, said Ketut Catur Marbawa, a manager of the Bali Conservation Agency.

Marbawa, whose agency is part of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, said that customs officials had also found plasticized pills, two geckos and five lizards in the suitcase. Zhestkov. All the animals were alive.

The Russian confessed to the authorities having provided the allergy tablets to the orangutan mixed with milk, which had resulted in the loss of consciousness of the animal for three hours.

Zhestkov told the authorities that bought the orangutan for $ 3,000 in a market of the main island of Java, Indonesia, because a friend badured him that he could have it as a pet.

The authorities still do not accuse the suspect because the police are still investigating the existence of links with international organizations involved in wildlife trafficking.

It is unclear whether Jestkov will have a lawyer to comment on his legal situation. Marbawa said that the Russian mission in Bali is already aware of the case.

The Orangutans are in danger of extinction, according to the clbadification of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Only 13,400 Sumatran orangutans remain free.

In 2018, a large study of orangutans in Borneo estimated that their numbers had dropped by more than 100,000 since 1999, as the palm oil and paper industries reduced their habitat and multiplied their numbers. fatal encounters with humans.