Confiscated logs secretly sold

Confiscated logs secretly sold

Kasparman, The Jakarta Post, Padang

The Forestry and Plantation Agency in West Sumatra has
secretly sold at least 17 truckloads of confiscated logs, which
were being held at the agency's office compound on Jl. Raden
Saleh in Padang.

Apparently to avoid detection by the public, the logs, which
were confiscated during a crackdown on illegal logging eight
months ago, were sold and transported at night.

There have been no reports about where the logs were taken.

The agency chief, Jhoni Azwar refused to confirm the sale of
the logs, claiming that he knew nothing about it.

"I did not know that the logs had been sold secretly. I
haven't yet received a report from my subordinates. I'll check
it," he said in Padang on Wednesday.

Upon further consideration, however, he said that the logs had
been openly auctioned recently, and not sold secretly. But he did
not disclose the value of the illegal logs nor the identity of
the buyers.

He was speaking to reporters about the case after attending a
meeting with West Sumatra Deputy Governor Fachri Ahmad, West
Sumatra Regional Police Chief Adang Firma and all regents and
mayors of the province to discuss the authority and security of
forestry.

The Jakarta Post observed the confiscated logs being
secretly shipped away in an operation which began last Wednesday
and stopped on Saturday. The trucks were escorted by a number of
police officers.

"It's strange. If they had been auctioned openly, then they
should not have been transported secretly during the night," said
Indra Sakti, an eyewitness.

A reliable source also confirmed that 17 of the 29 trucks
loaded with the confiscated logs in the compound of the forestry
agency had been transported secretly from the site. "Now, only 12
trucks are still there," he noted.