Forestry Ministry arrests suspect transporting 598 illegal logs in North Sumatra
Jakarta (ANTARA) — The Ministry of Forestry, through its Directorate General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum), has named a suspect in a case involving the transport of 598 illegal logs seized during an operation in Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra.
Head of the Forestry Law Enforcement Centre for the Sumatra Region, Hari Novianto, in a statement confirmed from Jakarta on Sunday, said that HSB had been named a suspect in the distribution of approximately 598 processed logs using unlawful documents, and is believed to be responsible for taking control of the cargo and coordinating the movement of the timber towards its destination.
“Naming HSB as a suspect opens the door to tracing everyone involved in the circulation of this timber. Investigators are digging into the timber’s origin, the cargo’s owner, the document providers, those giving orders, the financiers, the end recipients, and the intellectual actors suspected of designing and controlling the distribution,” Hari explained.
The case came to light when the Forest Produce Circulation Operations Team was carrying out monitoring on the Medan-Kabanjahe road in Sibolangit District, Deli Serdang Regency, on Thursday (23 July). Officers stopped a truck in front of the Sibolangit Motor Vehicle Weighing Implementation Unit and found a cargo of around 598 processed logs of various types and sizes.
Officers then verified the Timber Forest Produce Legality Certificate documents through the Forest Produce Administration Information System (SIPUHH). The result: the document data and the timber transport were not found in SIPUHH.
HSB faces a maximum prison sentence of five years and/or a maximum category IV fine of Rp200 million.
Director General of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Forestry, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, said in the same statement that illegal timber circulation not only damages forests but also erodes state revenues and creates unfair competition for compliant businesses.
“Therefore, the law enforcement strategy is directed in an integrated manner from upstream to downstream. Field enforcement must be followed by tracing the controlling actors, sources of financing, distribution patterns, beneficiaries, and the governance loopholes used to bring illegal timber to market. The goal is not merely to resolve a single case, but to build an orderly, transparent, and sustainable system for the circulation of forest produce,” said Januanto.
He affirmed that the Ministry places the crackdown on illegal logging and timber circulation as part of broader efforts to reform forestry governance.
This aligns with the direction of Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni regarding the importance of robust, system-based oversight so that illegal timber does not enter the market, non-tax state revenues from the forestry sector can be optimised, and fair business competition is created for compliant businesses.