More alarms over Indonesian rhino poaching after latest arrest

PALEMBANG/PANDEGLANG, Indonesia — Authorities in Indonesia are investigating possible links between a recent find of rhino horns for sale and a massacre of Javan rhinos that is still pending in court. Police, working with officials from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, announced on Aug. 27 the arrest of a 60-year-old man in Palembang, South Sumatra province, for allegedly attempting to sell eight rhino horns, five elephant ivory tobacco pipes and three dugong tusks. The arrest came during a rope operation on Aug. 23 when the suspect, identified only by the initials ZA, attempted to sell the products. Authorities said they had identified four of the rhino horns as belonging to Indonesian species and the other four as foreign, but did not specify which ones. Indonesia is home to two critically endangered rhino species, the Sumatran (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) and Javan (Rhinoceros sondaicus), each with a total estimated population of fewer than 100. “This is a transnational crime,” Rasio Ridho Sani, director general of law enforcement at the Ministry of Environment, told reporters. “We continue to strengthen partnerships with international law enforcement agencies such as Interpol and UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).” Wildlife authorities and local police in Palembang, South Sumatra, announced the arrest of a 60-year-old suspect, wearing an orange vest, for allegedly trafficking eight rhino horns, as well as elephant and dugong ivory. Photo courtesy of Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry. ​​Rasio said the arrest followed a lengthy investigation by the Ministry of… This article was originally published on Mongabay

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