1,205 Illegal Logs Seized in Balikpapan Amid Document Forgery Scheme
The Ministry of Forestry, through its Kalimantan Law Enforcement Agency, has exposed an alleged illegal timber circulation operation at CV MA in North Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. The joint operation, conducted with the East Kalimantan Police’s Special Criminal Investigation Directorate, the provincial forestry service, and the Military Police of Kodam VI/Mulawarman, began on 6 July 2026. At the site, officers inspected S, 50, the business owner, three workers, and M, 22, who was transporting processed meranti wood by truck and preparing to unload at the premises.
Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, stated that the legality of forest product documents is a crucial part of national forestry governance. “The timber supply chain must be free from grey areas. Every piece of wood moving from its source, through processing and transport, to its final destination must have traceable origins and legality. If documents are used to give a false impression of legality to problematic timber, it disrupts not only law enforcement but also trust in forest product governance and businesses that operate according to the rules,” he said on Monday (13/7).
Januanto added that the Ministry of Forestry is continuously strengthening supervision of forest product circulation to prevent illegal timber from entering the legal supply chain. “Compliant business actors who pay state obligations and follow the forest product administration system must be protected from unfair competition. The Ministry of Forestry continues to enhance supervision and law enforcement so that illegal timber finds no place in the supply chain. Indonesian wood products must be strong because of their traceability and legality,” he stated.
The case began with a public report regarding the suspected widespread circulation of timber using invalid documents in East Kalimantan. Following up on this information, the joint team conducted field checks and found alleged possession, transport, storage, processing, and circulation of processed timber that did not comply with forest product administration provisions. Januanto explained that initial investigations suggest S ordered and purchased processed timber, used allegedly invalid documents to transport the wood from Berau to Balikpapan, and then stored and reprocessed the timber at the CV MA site for resale. Investigators are also probing the suspected use of document serial numbers that had already been used for timber transport in other locations.
He added that the investigation into the alleged creation of invalid documents is ongoing. Investigators are exploring the possibility of other networks involved in creating, supplying, or trading the documents used to transport and circulate the processed timber. From the business premises and transport vehicle, officers secured one truck with its load of processed timber, 1,205 pieces of processed timber of various sizes and types, two circle saws, and two sacks of sawdust. The total timber volume is pending measurement and testing. All evidence has been seized and stored at the Kalimantan Law Enforcement Agency’s evidence warehouse.
For the timber transported by M, officers found the use of an allegedly invalid Processed Timber Certificate of Legal Origin (SKSHH-KO). Civil servant investigators, together with police supervisory coordinators, are conducting further investigations to clarify the timber’s origin, the validity of the documents, the suppliers, the recipients, and the parties suspected of creating or providing the invalid documents. Those proven involved may face charges under the Law on Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction, carrying a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to Rp2.5 billion.