“The defendant had intentionally violated the law by storing, possessing and transporting protected animals,” prosecutor AA Made Suarja Teja Buana said at the Denpasar Court on Wednesday, as quoted by state news agency Antara.

The 28-year-old was arrested at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport in March while passing through a security screening, where he was allegedly caught carrying an orangutan in his suitcase, as reported by CNN Indonesia.

Zhestkov was stopped by airport authorities promptly asked him to open up his luggage, in which they found the unconscious baby orangutan.

Orangutans are a critically endangered species, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), with an estimated population of only about 100,000 remaining worldwide.

Police said Zhestkov was also carrying two geckos and five lizards, which he intended to take on his flight back to Russia. However, the Russian claimed that the orangutan wasn’t his, and instead belonged to a friend named Igor, who is still on the police’s wanted list, as reported by Detik.

CNN Indonesia also reported that Zhestkov claimed that his Russian friend allegedly taught him how to keep the orangutan asleep during his flight by giving it sleeping tablets.