Wildlife advocates fear that an international rhino poaching ring may endanger the existence of the rhino species, and Indonesian authorities said on Wednesday that they had detained six individuals as suspects in this regard.
The conservation charity Save the Rhino, which is based in the United Kingdom and focuses on protecting rhinos from poaching in Africa and Asia, claims that the poaching ring targets the critically endangered Javan rhinoceros, one of five species of rhino with a dwindling population of just 76.
The defendants who were just apprehended in Indonesia are a member of a network that has killed at least 26 Javan rhinos since 2018 in order to obtain their horns using improvised rifles.
According to Abdul Karim, the head of provincial police in Banten, the horns are highly sought-after throughout Asia, where they are primarily utilized in traditional Chinese medicine and are also increasingly being used to make ornaments.
He claimed that last month, the Forestry and Environment Ministry and the police collaborated to apprehend the six men.
One of the suspects “admitted that 22 animals had been killed and their horns sold,” according to Yudhis Wibisana, the director of criminal investigation in Banten, who told reporters this week, while another “admitted four animals had been killed,” according to AFP.
Eight more syndicate members were being sought for by police and a group of rangers from Banten’s Ujung Kulon National Park, according to officials.
Sunendi, one of the poaching syndicate’s leaders, was apprehended last year and given a 12-year prison term along with a fine of 100 million rupiah, or $6,135.
Karim reported that an inquiry revealed that Sunendi, who goes by one name like many Indonesians, together with nine other people had killed 22 Javan rhinos between 2018 and 2021, and that four more had been killed by a different gang since 2021. They used a local handler who is presently on trial to sell the horns to Chinese customers.
Handmade weapons, ammunition, gunpowder, a steel sling noose, and other rhino poaching supplies were found by the police.
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Only about 80 mature Javan rhinos are thought to remain, according to Rasio Ridho Sani, the chief of law enforcement at the Forestry and Environment Ministry. This number is comparable to that provided by Save the Rhino.
According to him, the majority of them may be located in the western portion of Indonesia’s main Java island, in the Ujung Kulon National Park. According to him, poachers and the degradation of tropical forest habitat pose a threat to Javan rhinos.
“Poaching of protected animals is a serious crime and is of international concern,” Sani stated. “We are working closely with the Banten Regional Police to search and arrest the perpetrators of animal poaching crimes who managed to escape during the operation.”
In response to the arrests of the poaching suspects, Save the Rhino’s chief executive officer, Jo Shaw, released a statement highlighting the extent to which poachers had decimated the Javan rhino population in a matter of years.
“It’s devastating to learn that criminal gangs claim to have killed one-third of the entire remaining Javan rhino population, bringing the future of the species into jeopardy,” Shaw stated. “Arrests of members of the poaching networks around Ujung Kulon National Park are a positive development, however, it is essential that they are prosecuted to the full extent of the law and that agencies collaborate in investigating and dismantling the networks responsible for transporting the rhino horns onto the black market in China.”
Reference: CBS News
