6 suspected poachers arrested over killing of 26 endangered Javan rhinos

Indonesian authorities said Wednesday they have arrested six people as suspects in an international rhino poaching ring that wildlife advocates believe could threaten the species’ existence. The poaching network is targeting the critically endangered Javan rhino, one of five rhino species that has a dwindling population of just 76, according to the conservation charity. Save the Rhinowhich is based in the UK and focuses on protecting rhinos from poaching in Africa and Asia.

The suspects recently detained in Indonesia are part of a network that has used homemade firearms to kill at least 26 Javan rhinos since 2018 for their horns. The horns are in high demand in Asia, where they are predominantly used in traditional Chinese medicine and increasingly in making ornaments, said Banten provincial police chief Abdul Karim.

He said the six men were arrested in a joint operation by police and the Ministry of Forestry and Environment last month. Yudhis Wibisana, director of criminal investigation in Banten, told reporters this week that one of the suspects “admitted that 22 animals were killed and their horns sold” and another “admitted that four animals were killed,” according to AFP.

Police and a team of rangers from Ujung Kulon National Park in Banten were searching for eight other members of the syndicate, officials said. One of the leaders of the poaching syndicate, Sunendi, was arrested last year and sentenced to 12 years in prison and a fine of 100 million rupiah, which is equivalent to $6,135.

Karim said an investigation found that Sunendi, who uses a single name like many Indonesians, and nine others have killed 22 Javan rhinos since 2018, while another group has killed four more since 2021. They sold the horns to Chinese buyers through a handler site, which is currently on trial.

Police seized homemade firearms, bullets, gunpowder, a steel rope and other equipment used to hunt rhinos.

Rasio Ridho Sani, head of law enforcement at the Ministry of Forestry and Environment, said the Javan rhino population is declining and gave a similar estimate to Save the Rhino, telling the Associated Press that only about 80 adult animals remain. . He said they are mainly found in Ujung Kulon National Park in the western part of Indonesia’s main island of Java. Java’s rhinos are threatened by destruction of rainforest habitat and poachers, he said.

“Poaching protected animals is a serious crime of international concern,” said Sani. “We are working closely with the Banten Regional Police to search for and arrest the perpetrators of animal poaching crimes who managed to escape during the operation.”

Jo Shaw, executive director of Save the Rhino, responded to the arrests of the poaching suspects in a statement this underlined the extent to which poachers depleted Java’s total rhino population in just a few years.

“It is devastating to learn that criminal gangs claim to have killed a third of the entire remaining Javan rhino population, putting the future of the species at risk,” Shaw said in the statement. “The arrests of members of poaching networks around Ujung Kulon National Park are a positive development, however, it is essential that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and that agencies collaborate in investigating and dismantling the networks responsible ​​for the transport of rhino horns. to the black market in China.”

AFP contributed to this report.