Jakarta, March 19 -- Acting on a tip, the Forestry Ministry has thwarted the online trade of protected animal body parts from Indonesia to other countries, including the United States, and arrested two persons involved in the case.

The arrests were made in Sukabumi district, West Java.

In a statement released on Wednesday, director general of forestry law enforcement at the ministry, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, informed that crimes related to the trade of protected plants and wildlife (TSL) are considered transnational crimes.

Illegal TSL trade has the fourth-largest turnover in the world after narcotics, illegal firearms, and human trafficking, he said.

"Therefore, we formed a special team for transnational forestry and wildlife crimes and...