A Russian national has been detained in Indonesia after attempting to smuggle a drugged orangutan out of the country in his suitcase, local media reported Saturday.
The animal was found sleeping in a basket in the man’s luggage as he passed through security at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport on Friday night.
“The Russian deliberately used an inhumane method to take the orangutan to Russia,” Dewa Delanata, the head of the airport’s quarantine office, was cited as saying by The Jakarta Post news website.
Two geckos and five lizards were also found in the man’s luggage.
The suspect, who has been identified as Andrei Zhestkov, could face up to five years in prison for smuggling, the Guardian cited a local conservation agency official as saying.
The orangutan, which is considered a critically endangered species, has been handed over to the Bali Natural Resources Conservation Agency for treatment, The Jakarta Post reported.
