Does the convention to paraphrase a word in an article exist in Mandarin?
被逮 could be considered as a short version of 被逮住， meaning 被抓住; be caught; For example, 我被老师逮（住）了， 我考试作弊被逮了(I was caught for cheating in the exam), 他被逮了个正着(meaning he was just caught while he was doing something bad).

However, 被逮 usually is not that formal as 被逮捕 or 被捕. It's not a good idea to use it in a serious/formal writing, like in a report. 

Chinese writing does apply that convention OP mentioned, avoiding the same word being used multiple times. 

So, if I were the writer for that article, I would put ... 涉嫌违反野生动物保护法被逮捕, ... 被捕女大学生交代...