North-East insurgent groups have been providing marksmen and weapons for rhino poaching in exchange for a cut from the proceeds of illegal sale of rhino horns. This money is used to fund terror activity and stockpile arms and ammunition. The Sunday Express has learnt that this issue was discussed recently by Assam Police with senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The horn of an Indian rhino weighs 0.4-3 kg and can fetch up to USD 20,000 per kg in the international black market. International rhino horn trade was banned in 1977 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). A source in the MHA said the Assam Police, while making a presentation at a two-day anti-terror conference in New Delhi last month, flagged six key sources of terror funding: kidnapping and extortion, rhino poaching, narco-trafficking, timber and liquor smuggling, arms smuggling and training facilities, and tax collection. “Information has been received that insurgent groups, including those based in Manipur and Nagaland, are supplying arms and shooters for poaching and they have been receiving a portion of the sale amount… They are also providing help to facilitate transportation and sale of rhino horns,” the source said. Another source in a Central agency said Assam Police received information about the efforts being made by the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I), Central Headquarter (CHQ), situated at Dokmoka of Karbi Anglong district, to collect rhino horns. “In exchange for horns, one of the Karbi groups received arms and ammunition from Nagaland-based groups, and the Kuki National Front (KNF),” the source said. Last month, the MHA extended the ban on the ULFA-I for five years for its secessionist agenda and for maintaining links with other insurgent groups for extortion and violence. At the meeting, the MHA was informed that an anti-rhino poaching task force was coordinating with multiple agencies and executing operations in neighbouring states. According to the United Nations World Wildlife Crime Report 2024, rhino horn trade accounted for 29 per cent of the observed wildlife trade during the 2015-2021 period, based on seizures. Rhino horns’ annual illicit gross income during the 2016-2018 period was estimated to be $230 million globally.
