Nepal arrests 14 over rhino poaching

BBC News, 7 Oct 13;

At least fourteen alleged members of a gang of rhinoceros poachers have been arrested in Nepal, officials say.

Those arrested include Buddhi Bahadur Praja, the alleged leader of a cross-border smuggling ring.

Police accuse Mr Praja of killing more than 12 rhinos in Nepal in the past six years. There has been no immediate comment from any of those arrested.

Researchers say rhinos are killed so their horns can be used in traditional medicines, despite no proven benefits.

"It was a joint operation by the Nepalese army and the special police," Kamal Jung Kunwar, a senior official at Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, told the BBC.

"Fourteen people have been arrested in this operation in the past three weeks. We have seized two guns and four bullets from the gang."

Mr Kunwar said it was the biggest arrest of poachers in a single operation in recent years.

"It was one of our informers who provided us vital clues about the location of these poachers," he added.

Grave concern
Nepal's protected forests were estimated by a census in 2011 to be home to more than 500 rhinos, most of them in Chitwan National Park, about 120km (75 miles) south-west of the capital Kathmandu.

Nepal faced a serious problem of rhino poaching about 10 years ago when the country was affected by civil war between government forces and Maoist rebels.

In 2002, about 37 rhinos were killed by poachers, triggering grave concern over the future of one-horned rhinos.

Their population dropped from an estimated 612 in 2000 to less than 375 in 2005.

But numbers have increased to more than 500 after a series of anti-poaching measures were taken by the authorities.

"This year so far only one rhino has been killed by poachers in Chitwan Park," Mr Kunwar said.

Officials say there are more than 1,000 Nepalese soldiers in the Chitwan national park involved in anti-poaching activities. They operate from more than 40 positions, some deep inside the forest.


Nepal police arrest 14 for rhino poaching
Police in Nepal have arrested 14 rhinoceros poachers including the alleged mastermind of a cross-border smuggling ring Buddhi Bahadur Praja, who has been accused of killing 12 rhinos over the past six years.
Channel NewsAsia, 7 Oct 13;

KATHMANDU: Police in Nepal have arrested 14 rhinoceros poachers including the alleged mastermind of a cross-border smuggling ring, a national parks official said Monday.

Tikaram Paudel, an official at the Chitwan National Park which is home to most of the country's rhinos, said police arrested Buddhi Bahadur Praja, the alleged kingpin of a network extending from Nepal to China's Tibet, in mid-September.

His arrest in the popular tourist city of Pokhara helped authorities uncover a network of poachers, said Paudel.

"He would supply the rhino horns to Kathmandu-based smugglers who would supply them to Tibetans," he said.

Police have accused the 55-year-old smuggler of killing 12 rhinos over the past six years.

Police arrested four more smugglers and eight poachers in an operation that followed Praja's capture, recovering two guns and four bullets from the poachers living in villages near the country's national parks.

A 14th man was arrested for supplying weapons.

Rhino poaching in Nepal carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail and a 100,000-rupee ($1,013) fine.

Thousands of rhinos once roamed the plains of Nepal, but their numbers have plunged over the past century due to poaching and human encroachment of their habitat.

Around 534 rhinos roam Nepal's protected areas including the Chitwan National Park, according to a census in 2011.

The animals are killed for their horns, which are prized for their supposed medicinal qualities in China and Southeast Asia.

A single horn can sell for tens of thousands of dollars on the international black market, and with porous borders, weak law enforcement and proximity to China, the impoverished Nepal has been made a hub for the illegal trade.

- AFP/jl


Rhino poacher Chepang, smuggler gang arrested
Ramesh Kumar Poudel, Republica, 5 Oct 13;

CHITWAN, Oct 5 : Police busted a racket of rhino horn smugglers along with a notorious poacher, Buddi Bahadur Chepang. According to Chitwan National Park (CNP), 14 local and international smugglers of wildlife parts have been arrested along with most wanted poacher Chepang.

Police had long been searching for Chepang, who was convicted in three cases of rhino killing and was sentenced to 15 years´ imprisonment. However, he has been on the lam.

CNP informed that the smuggler gang was apprehended in the course of “Operation Unicornish” conducted to quash the rhino poaching and rhino body parts smuggling racket.

Organizing a press meet in Chitwan, CNP informed that the arrested gang included local poachers as well as international smugglers. CNP further claimed that the group was arrested when it was trying to enter the national park to kill the rhinos.

As per information given at the press meet, ´Operation Unicornish´ was conducted between September 12 to October 1. Two years ago also, CNP had launched ´Operation October´ and a group of smugglers dealing in rhino body parts was arrested.

Out of the nine cases against him at CNP, Buddhi Bahadur Chepang was convicted in three. He was arrested on September 13 in Pokhara with the help of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police.

“Smugglers operate at various levels. At the first level, smugglers buy arms from the Indian market and bring them to Nepal for poaching. Killing rhinos and obtaining the horns also fall within this level,” said Tika Ram Poudel, assistance conservation officer at CNP. According to him, in the second tier of activities local smugglers buy the rhino horns, and subsequently, in the third step of the smuggling process, take the horns to Kathmandu. Poudel informed that the rhino horns are smuggled out to the country in the fourth and last phase of the smuggling.

CNP claims that all the smugglers operating at all four levels of the smuggling mechanism have been arrested during Operation Unicornish. Poudel further informed that poacher Chepang, who is from Chitwan, has killed 12 rhinos since 2005.

Along with Chepang, police have arrested Bir Bahadur Praja, Dilli Bahadur Praja and Damu Praja of Bhandara, Raju Praja, Ramesh Praja and Ram Bahadur Praja of Korak VDC, Durga Kumal of Meghauli and Gopal Hajar Dusad of Mathol VDC in Parsha district. Police have also seized weapons from the smugglers.

“Had these smuggler not been arrested, they would have killed more rhino as they were prepared for it,” said Poudel of CNP. In the course of the operation, four people dealing in rhino horns have also been arrested.

Dithi Lama, Nurpu Chhuden Lama and Hitan Lama, all of them from Gorkha district and now living in diffrent places in the capial, have been arrested on the charge of dealing in rhino horns. Similarly, police have also arrested Norsang Lama of Jorpati in Kathmandu, for his involvement in the rhino horn smuggling.