Pekanbaru, Riau, (Antarariau.com) - The Crime Investigation Unit of the Riau Police have discovered six more tusks of Sumatran elephants poached in the Riau forests.
"In total, we have seized eight tusks. It is possible that more tusks are still hidden by FA in his house," Senior Commissioner Yohanes Widodo, the unit s head, said here, Friday.
The police seized the six tusks from FA, a poacher, who had killed some elephants in some Sumatran provinces.
Four of the six tusks belonged to elephants that were killed in Teso Nilo National Park (TNTN), Pelalawan District, and two were from the Jambi forest.
"All of the tusks have been seized and will be used as proof in the illegal ivory trade and Sumatran elephant poaching cases," he said.
The police searched FA s house to look for more tusks and carried out a crime scene investigation at the TNTN.
"Yesterday, we searched a house belonging to FA, and today we will search another house of his, because we have been informed that there are some unsold tusks being kept there," he noted.
Spokesman for the Riau Police Senior Commissioner Guntur Aryo Tejo said investigations over illegal ivory trade and elephant poaching are still going on.
The police will see whether eight poachers including FA who are now being detained by the police in Riau, belong to an international network of illegal ivory traders.
The eight poachers who were detained Tuesday evening, had killed six Sumatran elephants in two provinces, the Riau Provincial Police said.
"They belong to a cruel syndicate. They shot the elephants in their heads for their tusks. I strongly suspect they are part of a syndicate because they operated in different provinces, Such as Riau and Jambi," Senior Commissioner Y. S. Widodo stated Wednesday.
The local police detained the eight poachers and seized weapons and a pair of two-meter-long tusks Tuesday evening.
They admitted that the tusks were taken from a male Sumatran elephant killed in Mandau, Bengkalis district of Riau province.
"During interrogation, the suspects confessed to have killed three elephants in TNTN in Riau, three days ago. The elephants that were poached comprised a female and two males," he noted.
In September 2014, they had also killed two elephants in Jambi, and had sold their tusks at a price of Rp8 million, Widodo revealed.
The poachers names were announced by their initials as FA (50), HA (40), R (37) and MU (52) along with S (30), R (30), I (25), and AS (50). FA was the main perpetrator behind the illegal hunting activities.
They face a five-year term in prison and are liable to pay a fine amounting to Rp200 million. (KR-FZR)
Riau Police Discover Six More Elephant Tusks
