Police have disclosed that the illegal buyers and sellers of young Komodo dragons used nylon ropes attached to the ends of wood to trap these endangered animals.
The wood, serving as the noose handle, measured 2.5 metres in length, with a knot approximately the width of an adult’s thumb, as elucidated by West Manggarai Deputy Chief of Police, Commissioner Budi Guna Putra.
The individuals responsible for trapping young Komodo dragons go by the initials MN, aged 37, and A, aged 20, and are residents of Kerora Hamlet on Rinca Island within Komodo National Park.
Putra explained that this duo then peddled the young Komodo dragons to collectors at a rate of Rp2 million per specimen, who subsequently resold them to other collectors in Bali and Java for more than ten times the original value, fetching prices in the range of Rp20-28 million.
“They are currently unemployed. Additionally, the primary perpetrator, whose initial is H, was enticed with Rp2 million,” Putra added.
Between June and October 2023, a total of five young Komodo dragons were illicitly transported to Bali and Java, with two of them perishing after their capture.