21 arrested for logging

Tue, 02 Apr 1996

BENGKULU, Bengkulu: The police have arrested 21 people on charges of stealing timber from forests.

Chief detective of the Bengkulu police command Capt. Achmadi Nurdin said the authorities have also seized 90 cubic meters of timber, two chain saws and two rafts from the suspects.

Thirteen suspects were caught red-handed loading their loot into rafts at the Linau tributary, he said. They will be brought to trial in the near future.

"We mean to teach them a hard lesson, so that others will learn that stealing does not pay," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Forests make up 49.4 percent of Bengkulu's two million hectare area. (pan)

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