Authorities have arrested six rhino poachers near Assam’s Orang National Park.

Four rhino poachers were arrested Saturday as they were plotting to kill rhinos in Assam’s Orang National Park. Thanks to a tip, authorities raided a house in Bihudia village, which is located near the edge of the park.

On Sunday, two more poachers were arrested. Unfortunately, they had already obtained a rhino horn.

Four poachers arrested on Saturday

The poachers arrested on Saturday have been identified as Md Joynaluddin, aka Junu, from Morigaon district; Md Abbas Ali, from Sonitpur district; Lamkholen, from the Manja Bazaar area in Karbi Anglong; and Alen Khonsai, from Burah Bazar in Dimapur, Nagaland.

Divisional Forest Officer Sushil K. Daila said via The Telegraph that Joynaludden was responsible for several rhino killings in both Orang and Kaziranga National Parks.

The gang was plotting a rhino killing expedition when officials found them inside a residence.

We have recovered several items, including food and medicine and mosquito repellents from the group. They were getting ready to enter the park last night.

They were in a particular house, making plans to kill rhinos. They had hidden the rifle somewhere. Interrogation is on.

Mr. Daila added that the poachers had information about two rhinos in the Dhuni area of the park, and were planning to kill them.

Two more arrests on Sunday

Following Saturday’s success, two more poachers, identified as Nabib Ali and Majibur Rahman from Borsola village, were arrested.

According to media sources, the duo was apprehended in Assam’s Morigaon district, and a pistol was confiscated.

Sadly, the poachers were in possession of a rhino horn, which authorities suspect is from Orang National Park.

There is no word yet on whether or not the two incidents are related.

Rhino poaching gangs

Rhino poaching gangs operating in Orang and Kaziranga National Parks are usually from the notorious illegal wildlife trading hub of Dimapur, Nagaland. They are often from the Karbi Anglong area as well.

To learn more about these rhino poaching gangs, check out India’s Rhino Poaching Gangs: A Closer Look.

No medicinal value in rhino horn

Today, the consumer markets for illegal rhino horn are concentrated in China and Vietnam, where rhino horn is considered a key ingredient in traditional medicines.

However, the notion of rhino horn’s “healing properties” is nothing more than a persistent cultural myth. Rhino horn has been extensively analyzed and the truth is that is has no medicinal value whatsoever.

Watch Dr. Raj Amin of the Zoological Society of London explain that rhino horn has the same medicinal effect as chewing your own nails:

For additional public awareness videos and materials, visit the Campaigns page on the Saving Rhinos website.

Sources: The Telegraph; NDTV; India Blooms

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

You might also enjoy: