Cameroon Gendarmerie arrests suspected traffickers of human bones

   YAOUNDE, Jan. 15  -- Cameroon National Gendarmerie said Wednesday four people suspected of trafficking in human bones have been arrested in the West region of the country.
   Gendarmerie officials told reporters that they were arrested in the West regional town of Koutaba "with bags containing human bones".
   The suspects are said to have emptied the content of the tombs they had targeted in the town for a promised sum of 10 million CFA francs (about 17,000 U.S. dollars).
   The Gendarmerie presented the suspects and the human bones during a media briefing in the town on Wednesday.
   In early January, police caught three other traffickers in the capital Yaounde in possession of a bag containing human bones reportedly deterred from graveyards in the city.
   Body parts of humans and rare animals are prized by some in central Africa for their supposed supernatural powers and used in occult ceremonies.
   Traffickers often get human remains from grave-robbers, but a recent spate of killings has also been linked to the gruesome trade. Xinhau