Case file for illegal logging in Tesso Nilo National Park declared complete

Case file for illegal logging in Tesso Nilo National Park was declared complete (P-21) by the Pelalawan District Attorney’s Office on 2 March 2026. Suspect DM, 56, and the associated evidence will be handed over in Phase II from the Sumatra Forest Enforcement Center to the Pelalawan District Attorney’s Office on Thursday, 12 March 2026. DM has been detained since 23 January at the Riau Regional Police Detention Centre. The evidentiary items seized include a white Mitsubishi Pajero Sport with registration documents and ignition keys, a chainsaw, five red jerrycans, 28 pieces of sawn timber shaped like loaves, and a red-and-black notebook, all seized by investigators. Head of the Sumatra Forest Enforcement Center Hari Novianto stated that suspect D was arrested on Wednesday, 21 January 2026 while felling trees inside the TNTN using a chainsaw and intending to transport the illegally processed timber. He is alleged to have committed forestry offences in TNTN, which is the natural habitat of the protected Sumatran elephants. The authorities emphasised their commitment to safeguarding the TNTN from illegal logging and encroachment in the aftermath of the area’s reconquest. The suspect D is charged under Article 83(1)(b) in conjunction with Article 12(e) and/or Article 82(1)(c) in conjunction with Article 12(c) of Law No. 18 of 2013 on Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction as amended by Law No. 6 of 2023 on the Establishment of the Perppu No. 2 of 2022 on Job Creation into law, and/or Article 40B(1)(e) in conjunction with Article 33(2)(e) of Law No. 5 of 1990 on Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems as amended by Law No. 32 of 2024. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine up to category VI or Rp2 billion.