Man allegedly sold kangaroos in Indonesia

SURABAYA, Indonesia, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- A man has been arrested in Indonesia's East Java province for allegedly selling red kangaroos, a protected species in the Asian country, authorities said.

An East Java Police official identified only as Cmdr. Widarmanto said the suspect was arrested Friday in the Madura Strait and authorities also seized 10 red kangaroos from Papua New Guinea, The Jakarta Post reported Saturday.

"At the time of the arrest, five of the kangaroos were already dead, while the rest were secured by the police," Widarmanto said.

"The suspect admitted buying the animals from a Papuan resident for rupiah two million ($212) each."

ProFauna Indonesia head Rosek Nursahid told the Post the arrest of the suspect, identified only as Mulyadi, represented the first time authorities in the Mandura Strait uncovered a case of red kangaroo smuggling.

"ProFauna activists in Papua tell us the trade of red kangaroos is widespread, with animals going to Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, and Banyuwangi in East Java," Nursahid said.