How Wildlife Traffickers Are Using Coded Language to Sell Protected Animals On Facebook
A Bellingcat investigation has identified nine Facebook groups with a combined membership of more than 70,000 people, in which coded language has helped illegal wildlife dealers evade bans on the platform for years. Facebook says it prohibits any form of animal trading on its platform. Investigating
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A Bellingcat investigation has identified nine Facebook groups with a combined membership of more than 70,000 people, in which coded language has helped illegal wildlife dealers evade bans on the platform for years. Facebook says it prohibits any form of animal trading on its platform.
Investigating the operators behind all nine groups, Bellingcat identified six Facebook profiles that led back to a single broker in Jakarta, Indonesia. This investigation was carried out in partnership with Mongabay. You can read their report in English here and in Bahasa Indonesia here.
In an open Facebook group, brazenly titled “West Bogor Animal Selling and Trading Forum,” one member posts an advert for a vulnerable rhinoceros hornbill.
Commenting on the advert, another member warns: “Just be careful not to get caught.”
Screenshot of a Facebook conversation, translated from Bahasa Indonesia and posted in July 2025. Annotated by Bellingcat.
“That’s the risk,” replies the seller.
Under Indonesian law, the capture, trade, or possession of a rhinoceros hornbill is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to Rp100 million (US$6,000). (According to Statistics Indonesia, the average monthly wage in August 2025 was just over Rp3 million or US$180.)
Meta also states that the buying and selling of animals on its platforms is prohibited. However, in this group, along with eight others identified by Bellingcat, animals have been traded in plain sight for years, including wild and protected species. Three of the nine groups have been live on Facebook for at least five years. Four have been active for 12 months or more, and the remaining two were created in 2025.
Screenshots of tortoises, monkeys, and owls for sale, posted in Facebook adverts in October 2025.
In one of the most active groups, West Bogor Animal Selling and Trading Forum, more than 200 adverts were posted in a single week. Of these, 18 advertised vulnerable species, including these two infant silvery gibbons.
Screenshots of two infant silvery gibbons advertised on Facebook on May 10, 2025.
Otters were also frequently posted in the group. Popular in the Southeast Asian pet trade, most otter species are protected due to declining numbers in the wild. However, because many of the adverts were for infants, it was not always possible to determine which otter species was being sold, and therefore whether it was protected.
“Using Codes So The Group Stays Safe”
Despite Facebook’s total ban on animal trading, including pets, in the group titled: Civet/Pet Buying and Selling in the Greater Jakarta Area, members were instructed in the “About” tab to “prioritise using codes so the group stays safe from being banned.”
Screenshot of the group’s About description. Translated and annotated by Bellingcat.
Alphanumeric codes were used to discuss animal prices in eight of the nine groups identified by Bellingcat. According to the Indonesian news outlet Jateng Today, the use of pricing codes, intended to circumvent Facebook’s automated moderation systems, is not uncommon among animal traders on the platform.
Such codes use the letters A, B, and C to denote different Indonesian rupiah denominations. A stands for a Rp100,000 note (about US$6), while B represents a Rp50,000 note (about US$3). An accompanying number specifies the quantity, so A3 indicates three Rp100,000 notes.
Screenshot of a conversation on Facebook discussing the price of animals. Blurring by Bellingcat.
In the post below, one member asks, “A2 dapet apa?” – “What does A2 (Rp 200,000; US$12) get you?”
Screenshot from the Facebook group ‘Buying and Selling civets/pets in the Greater Jakarta area,’ posted on Facebook, August 6, 2024.
The post received 69 replies, with members offering everything from otters to owls, civets and geckos.
The term “Wc” – a common shorthand in animal trading groups for “wild-caught” – was also frequently used across all nine groups. Under Indonesian law, even if a species is not listed as vulnerable or protected, capturing and selling wild animals without a permit is illegal.
Asked whether its moderation systems could detect cost codes (as text or embedded in images) or key terms such as WC (when found next to images of animals), Meta responded:
“Bad actors constantly evolve their tactics to avoid enforcement, which is why we partner with groups like the World Wildlife Fund and invest in tools and technology to detect and remove violating content.”
The Operators
While investigating the operators behind all nine groups, Bellingcat identified six Facebook profiles that led back to one individual broker based in Jakarta.
By navigating to the “People” tab in one of the groups, a list of admins and moderators appears, including an account referenced below as AB. Despite AB’s profile being locked, a search with the term “wa.” (WhatsApp’s click-to-chat feature) returned dozens of animal adverts alongside a phone number.
Screenshot of AB’s Facebook post including a phone number. Posted June 11, 2025.
Using the phone number to search for AB’s historic posts, six out of the nine groups under investigation were found to have adverts for vulnerable species, including this advert for a binturong.
Screenshot of an advert for a “Bintu” short for binturong. Posted by AB, September 2024.
Listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), keeping a binturong, let alone trading it commercially, is prohibited under Indonesian law.
AB has also advertised this “Celepuk Wc”, a wild-caught scops owl, seen below. Although the species itself is not protected, selling a wild-caught owl in Indonesia without a permit (which are tightly regulated) violates Indonesian law.
Owls for sale, posted by AB. Left: Labelled “Wc” for wild-caught. Right: “BC” for bred in captivity.
By following the phone number shared by AB, five more Facebook profiles were uncovered. The six profiles frequently shared similar adverts, often within days of each other, for the same species, sometimes featuring a similar interior background, and always listing the same telephone number.
Six different accounts posting similar-looking animal adverts, while all using the same contact phone number.
Late last year, one of the accounts referenced below as W, posted this wreathed hornbill, a protected species in Indonesia.
Screenshot of an advert for a wreathed hornbill. Posted by Waa, November 2025.
Of the six profiles, only one, named Azie Soka Smithh has ever posted personal data, including a profile picture of a man with a child.
An advert for a civet, posted by Azie Soka Smithh and tagging the same phone number as used by the other five accounts.
Further investigation into Azie Soka Smithh confirmed their presence on other platforms, including Telegram and Instagram. However, their full legal name remained unknown. While searching for visual clues to their location, it became apparent that the vast majority of images had been tightly cropped, revealing little about their whereabouts – except for a handful of images that appeared to have been taken at the same location: a pet shop.
In the adverts shown below, a poster can be seen on the wall behind the cage displaying the shop name Station Sato Exotic and a phone number. Of all the images seemingly taken in the same shop, none featured species protected under Indonesian law. However, the long-tailed macaque shown below is considered endangered according to IUCN due to declining numbers in the wild.
Adverts posted by two different accounts but with the same shop name and phone number visible in the background. The right image features a long-tailed macaque.
A Google search for the shop’s name and number returned a Google Maps listing for Station Sato Exotic. A man named “beni” had left a five-star rating as well as several dozen photos and videos of the pet shop’s interior, including one that appeared to show a man sitting next to an identical poster as seen in the animal adverts.
Screenshot of Beni’s Google review, including (right) a video of a man sitting beside a poster for Station Sato Exotic. Posted July 2021.
According to beni’s Google account, his full name is Beni Abdul Hamid (translated from Arabic). His bio reads: “We sell various kinds of accessories, cages, animal feed, etc” (translated from Bahasa Indonesia).
Of the 16 photos and 25 videos posted by Beni, several showed a left hand holding animals up to the camera, with a distinctive mole visible on the wrist. A seemingly identical mole appeared in several of the adverts posted by the six Facebook accounts sharing the same phone number. Notably, the mole and wrist were not seen holding species protected under Indonesian law. However, the long-tailed macaque shown below is considered endangered according to IUCN.
A distinctive mole appears in multiple animal adverts posted by (left) Beni on Google Listings, (centre) AB on Facebook and (right) another of the six accounts using the shared phone number. The centre and right images feature a long-tailed macaque.
Upon visiting Station Sato Exotic, our partners at Mongabay confirmed that Google reviewer Beni Abdul Hamid was in fact the owner. His son, Jordan Bastian, who was present on the day, told their reporter he now manages the shop on his father’s behalf.
Bastian confirmed that it was his wrist and mole in the adverts and that he had taken all of the photos inside the shop. However, he said he was not behind any of the six Facebook accounts and that they were most likely run by a local broker. He explained that his business relies on a network of brokers operating on Facebook and WhatsApp. He sends them photos of the animals he has for sale, and they handle sourcing and organising everything with the buyer in exchange for a cut of the profits.
“I’m a broker. I’m involved in marketing the animals, so I provide the photos,” said Bastian. “I don’t want to know about the buyer.”
When shown the Facebook account for Azie Soka Smithh, Bastian confirmed that the man in the profile picture was a local broker, but one who seldom visited the shop.
Station Sato Exotic Pet Shop also has an online presence on Tokopedia, a major Indonesian marketplace. The platform’s guidelines prohibit the sale of endangered species, but are not clear regarding the sale of other animals, including pets.
Of Station Sato Exotic’s 71 current listings, the large majority have been miscategorised. Animals are listed as tools, toys, aquarium decorations and books. They are also miscategorised as other species; for example, birds and squirrels have been listed as hamsters or reptiles.
One advert features a vulnerable cuckoo species, the Sunda Coucal. Endemic to Java and numbering fewer than 10,000, this bird has been listed as vulnerable since 1994.
Screenshot of Station Sato Exotic’s Tokopedia page promoting the sale of a vulnerable cuckoo species. The page reports that four birds have already been sold.
Asked whether he had sold many animals via Tokopedia, Bastian said his account had been blocked after he was banned for selling squirrels. When shown the advert above for the Sunda Coucal, he said he was surprised to learn it was classified as vulnerable. Tokopedia did not respond to requests for comment regarding an advert for a vulnerable species appearing on their platform.
On the sale of protected or vulnerable species more broadly, Bastian admitted he had in the past, but has since stopped, describing “the risk is big” and saying he prefers to “play it safe.”
After contacting the local authorities for comment, three officers from the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) made a surprise visit to Station Sato Exotic, due to the shop having previously been reported for selling protected species. Head of Conservation Stephanus Hanny said that upon arrival, “We went inside and checked every animal… We did not find any protected species.” He added that even the sale of non-protected wildlife requires a permit, which the shop does not currently hold. However, since it’s not a criminal offence, Hanny said they could only issue the owners with a warning.
Bellingcat also contacted the phone number associated with Azie Soka Smithh. The person replied, confirming they managed all six accounts but denied selling any animals, including protected and vulnerable species. “I’m just a hobbyist. An animal lover,” they said.
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Given that the account had been found advertising vulnerable and protected species for sale, the Indonesian Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, said authorities would investigate. Asked how their team of investigators was adapting to the illegal wildlife trade growing online, Nugroho replied:
“Criminal behaviour continues to reproduce itself in order to survive. In fact, it can evolve faster than the law enforcement system itself. In response …cyber patrols and desk analysis via the operations room will continue to be intensified, while we further optimise support from volunteer networks, working partners, and public participation.”
After contacting Meta, all six accounts, including Azie Soka Smithh, and all nine groups, totalling 70,000 members, were shut down. Meta confirmed: “We removed the Facebook groups and profiles in question for violating our Restricted Goods and Services Policy.”
Merel Zoet and Claire Press contributed to this report.
