10 regents probed over timber thefts

10 regents probed over timber thefts

PALEMBANG, South Sumatra: As many as 10 regents are being
investigated in connection with illegal logging across Indonesia,
Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban said here on Friday.

He said the regents included the head of Lamandau regency in
Central Kalimantan province. The minister did not identify the
remaining nine regents in question.

The list of 10 regents were submitted by the Ministry of Home
Affairs to the National Police, Kaban added.

The minister said on Tuesday that at least 178 foreigners had
been arrested for alleged involvement in the illegal felling of
forests on the islands of Papua, Sumatra and Borneo.

The arrests had been made since the imposition of a
presidential decree on illegal logging last year, he added.

The decree requires the Indonesian Military and the National
Police, the Attorney General's Office and the Ministry of Home
Affairs to fight illegal logging. --Antara