Nepal police arrest 'most wanted' rhino poacher

Yahoo News 28 Feb 11;

KATHMANDU (AFP) – Nepalese police have arrested an alleged mastermind poacher on suspicion of killing 16 endangered rhinos over several years, officers in Kathmandu said Monday.

Kajiman Praja, 32, was held on Saturday along with four female family members in Waling, 260 kilometres (160 miles) west of the capital, after a tip-off from the WWF conservation group.

"He is our 'most wanted' poacher and his family was involved in rhino poaching in Chitwan National Park," Rajendra Singh Bhandari, chief of the police's Central Investigation Bureau, told AFP.

Bhandari said Praja's two wives, a sister and a sister-in-law were also involved in the racket. Police accused him of killing a total of 16 rhinos in past six years.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says the global population of greater one-horned rhinos in 2007 was just 378 in Nepal and 2,200 in India.

Wildlife experts say many rhinos in Nepal fell prey to poachers during the 10-year Maoist rebellion that ended in 2006.

The animal's horn is highly valued as an aphrodisiac in China, with each one fetching as much as $14,000 on the international black market.

Rhino poaching in Nepal carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail.