Man arrested for selling rhino horns and elephant tusks online

Indonesian authorities have arrested a man who attempted to sell elephant tusks and horns from endangered rhinos via social media.

Illegal wildlife trade remains widespread in Indonesia despite lax law enforcement, but the man arrested faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted, the Environment Ministry said in a statement.

Police in South Sumatra launched an investigation after seeing posts on Facebook earlier this year offering parts of protected wildlife for sale.

A 60-year-old man identified only by the initials “ZA” was arrested last week at a shop in Palembang, South Sumatra, while trying to sell a rhino horn and a whistle made from an elephant tusk.

Police found seven more rhino horns and at least four elephant tusks in his house.

“It appears he has a lot of experience in wildlife trafficking,” the Environment Ministry said.

In June, police arrested a gang of poachers suspected of killing 26 critically endangered Javan rhinos in Ujung Kulon National Park since 2018.

There were once thousands of them in Southeast Asia, but they have been severely affected by rampant poaching and human interference in their habitat. According to the Ministry of the Environment, there are only around 80 of these animals left in the wild.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has also classified the Sumatran rhinoceros as critically endangered; there are fewer than 50 specimens left.

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