Indonesian authorities just threw a wrench into a rather audacious operation: a major wildlife trafficking network specializing in Komodo dragons. They managed to nab eleven people connected to the syndicate, which, if you ask us, is a pretty good day at the office.
The target? The world's largest lizard, the Komodo dragon, specifically the endangered juvenile kind. These little guys, Varanus komodoensis for the scientifically inclined, were being smuggled to Thailand. The bad guys apparently thought stashing baby dragons in plastic pipes would be a foolproof way to avoid detection. Spoiler alert: it wasn't.
A Dragon's Journey, From Flores to a Fortune
Over roughly a year, this group managed to move at least seventeen Komodo dragons. Their journey was quite the multi-modal adventure: from their native Flores Island, across sea, air, road, and rail, through Java and Sumatra, and eventually, the final destination, Thailand.
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Start Your News DetoxPolice put an end to their most recent attempt in February, which involved three dragons. The smugglers seemed to have a particular fondness for the Pota area in Flores, where about 700 Komodo dragons live outside the usual national park protections. Which, if you're a trafficker, probably looks less like a vibrant ecosystem and more like an open-air ATM.
And what an ATM it was. These dragons were reportedly bought for a paltry $320 each in Pota. By the time they hit Java, that price had nearly sextupled. But the real payday was in Thailand, where a single Komodo dragon could fetch almost $29,000. Let that satisfying number sink in. Someone just lost a very, very expensive plastic pipe full of lizards.
