Koose Muniswamy Veerappan (January 18, 1952 – October 18, 2004) was an Indian criminal guilty of poaching, smuggling including ivory, kidnapping and murder. He is held responsible for the deaths of 120 people, including 44 police officers. He operated his organization from poorly accessible mountain areas in the Indian states of Kerala Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Because he enjoyed great popularity among the poor population and cultivated a kind of Robin Hood status on the one hand, and probably bribed a large number of politicians and police officials on the other, he managed to evade the authorities for years.