Maritime police authorities in the Northern National Capital Region (NCR) Marine Environmental Protection, Safety and Security Task Force (MARPSTA) have arrested two alleged wildlife traders for violating the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act and the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
The arrests were made in separate incidents on May 15 and May 16, by the operating team under P/Maj. Robert Alvin Gutierrez.
In the first incident, Mark Batoy, a 30-year-old resident of Valenzuela City, was apprehended by the Northern NCR MARPSTA team in front of Sampalukan Elementary School in Caloocan City.
Batoy was caught trading two live Indian ring neck birds and two live sun conure birds for P45,000 via his online messenger account “Mark Yotab.” When the police approached him and asked for the necessary permits to trade wildlife, he failed to present any.
The police team seized the wildlife species and arrested Batoy, who was then brought to the police station for investigation.
In the second incident, Jericoh Pinza, a 40-year-old resident of Pasay City, was caught trading two live ball pythons for P14,000 at the parking area of the Cartimar Shopping Center.
Pinza was also using an online messenger account and cellphone number to conduct his illegal trade. The police team approached Pinza and asked for the necessary permits to trade wildlife, but he failed to present any.
The police seized the ball pythons and arrested Pinza, who was also brought to the police station for investigation.
Both suspects will face charges for violating Section 27, Paragraph (e) for trading of wildlife and Paragraph (f) for possession of wild life species of Republic Act (RA) 9147, or the “Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act,” as well as Section 6 of RA 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
The police also seized other pieces of evidence, including marked money and cellphones used by the suspects in their illegal activities.
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