Indonesian police arrest elephant poacher, ivory buyers

By RISKA MUNAWARAH
Associated Press

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian police say they have arrested an elephant poacher in Aceh province along with four people who bought ivory from an animal he killed. They say the elephant was found without its head on July 11 at a palm plantation. Police arrested a suspect who admitted he had tried to kill elephants five times since 2017 by poisoning them, but had succeeded only twice, including the recent death. The suspect told police that he and a partner had poisoned mangos near a herd of wild elephants and executed a weakened elephant two hours later with an axe. The partner is still on the run.