BBKSDA NTT Intercepts 1,000 Birds at Labuan Bajo Port, Then Releases Them

Labuan Bajo — Indonesian conservation officers intercepted and later released about 1,000 birds in Manggarai Barat after stopping a shipment at Wae Kelambu Multipurpose Port, according to separate reports from local news outlets. The birds were released at Nggorang Bowosie protected forest on 9 May, the reports said.

The seizure involved mostly pleci, or white-eyes, and also included Flores yellow-bellied whistlers and pied bush chats, according to the reports. One account said the birds were found in cardboard boxes and cages inside a truck that was being transported by sea toward Surabaya, East Java.

BBKSDA NTT head Adhi Nurul Hadi said the release was carried out with the support of local authorities, community groups, police and the Indonesian Navy, according to one report. The same report said a person identified by the initials MS was being examined by authorities.

Local reporting said the birds were first stopped during an inspection at the port on 8 May and were released the next day in Nggorang Bowosie. The reports also said some of the birds had been purchased from residents in Maumere, Sikka Regency, while others were allegedly caught by the suspect.

Route and species

The reports described an inter-island route linking Maumere, Labuan Bajo and Surabaya. They did not provide a vessel name, shipping operator or handling details for the shipment at the port.

The species list reported included pleci, Flores yellow-bellied whistler and pied bush chat. One outlet also reported alleged purchase and resale prices for the birds, suggesting a profit incentive in the trade, but the reports do not establish how common that route is or how large the wider wildlife trade may be.

What the reporting confirms

A separate local report from August 2025 described a similar, but distinct, interception in Labuan Bajo involving 1,000 pleci and six anis kembang on the route to Surabaya, with release at Nggorang Bowosie. That report placed the stop at Wae Kelambu on 16 August 2025 and the release on 19 August 2025, showing that Labuan Bajo has also featured in other wildlife-transport cases.

The 2025 case should not be merged with the May operation. It involved different dates and a different bird mix, and it does not change the basic confirmed details of the May interception and release.

Reported figures in the May case: 1,000 birds intercepted at Wae Kelambu Port and released at Nggorang Bowosie the following day.

Based on the sources reviewed, the best-supported version of the event is that BBKSDA NTT and other authorities intercepted a shipment of roughly 1,000 birds at Wae Kelambu Port in Labuan Bajo on 8 May and released them in Nggorang Bowosie on 9 May. The reports do not provide enough independently verified detail to confirm the full legal status of every bird or the final outcome of any investigation involving MS.

Update: the draft’s claim that the birds were released on 2026-09-04 is not supported by the sources reviewed; the reporting points instead to a May 2025 operation.

Sources

• Nusantara Bicara
• Detik Bali