Inp.polri.go.id – East Aceh. Personnel of the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate of Aceh Regional Police have thwarted the illegal transaction of the leather of endangered Sumatran Tiger (Panthera Tigris) in East Aceh. Following the raid, police has named two suspects with the initials of K (48) and M (24). “The suspects acts as the sales intermediary while the poachers are still being hunted down by the police,” says Aceh Regional Police Chief, Inspector General Achmad Kartiko on Monday (1/22/2024). Kartiko told that the arrest began with information from the public on January 19th, 2024 regarding the tiger pelt transaction in Tualang, East Aceh. After having those knowledge, police immediately dispatched their unit and found and approached one of the suspects who was waiting for the other one in a minibus. The minibus was then searched and the police found the tiger pelt along with its bones and other body parts. “From the initial investigation, we found out that K works as a government employee while M works as a driver,” says the Aceh Regional Police Chief. As of now, investigators charged the two suspects with Article 21 Paragraph (2) letter b in conjunction with Article 40 Paragraph (2) Law Number 5 of 1990 concerning conservation of natural resources and their ecosystems. “The uncovering of the tiger pelt illegal transaction demonstrates Aceh Regional Police commitment in acting firmly against criminal actions who threatens ecosystem and natural resource conservation,” says Kartiko in his closing statement. (ad/inp/pr/nm)