Jakarta, June 3 -- Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry has dismantled an illegal ivory trafficking network operating out of artisan shops in Bali, arresting one suspect and seizing dozens of carved elephant tusks.

The crackdown, carried out in late April 2026, was launched after the ministry's cyber patrol unit flagged social media posts showcasing wildlife contraband, prompting a raid in the cultural hub of Gianyar Regency by environmental inspectors and Bali Police.

"Cases like this require meticulous investigation because the evidence is no longer in the form of raw animal parts, but has been transformed into commercial handicrafts," head of the Java-Bali-Nusa Tenggara environmental law enforcement desk, Aswin Bangun, said in a statemen...