Investigators tell how they uncovered smuggling

Investigators tell how they uncovered smuggling

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"This is a smuggler...ha...ha.... He is a mafia
(member)...ha...ha...," an unidentified man told undercover
investigators.

He pointed his finger at a Singaporean in a yellow checked
shirt, who was counting stash of cash on his desk.

The Singaporean smiled and said, "The problem is that somebody
asks me to smuggle. The problem is the buyer. No buyer, no
smuggling."

"This smuggling is better than drug smuggling. Drug smuggling
is no good. This one is OK," he said in a heavy Sing-lish
(Singaporean English) accent.

That was a dialog captured on video and presented by the
London-based Environmental Investigative Agency (EIA) and its
Indonesian partner, Telapak, when unveiling their investigation
into the world's biggest smuggling operation of merbau (intsia)
from Papua province to China.

The timber smuggling involves around 300,000 cubic meters of
timber a month and generates around US$1 billion in revenue. The
two NGOs claimed that the racket was the world's biggest
smuggling operation in terms of one species of timber being
smuggled from one place to another.

"The huge illegal trade of merbau logs between Indonesia and
China is the world's biggest environment-related crime and it
endangers Papua forests," said John Newman, an EIA investigator.

Arbi Valentinus of the Bogor-based Telapak told The Jakarta
Post that the three-year investigation started in 2002, based on
reports received from Papuans and local media.

"There were news reports on rampant illegal logging in Papua
that they had never seen before," Arbi said after releasing the
report: The Last Frontier at a media conference on Thursday in
Jakarta.

His colleague, M. Yayat Afianto, said the investigation had
been perfectly prepared before they traveled from the eastern tip
of Indonesia to the industrial town of Nanxun in China.

"We studied the history of forest management in the area and
contacted people in Papua to assist us in accessing the logging
areas and talked to the tribal communities," he said.

At the same time, EIA was trying to uncover the chain of
syndicates that stretched across Asia and involved high profile
businessmen, high-ranking military personnel and customs
officials. Each played an important role from preparing shipping
documents to finding buyers.

The two NGOs spent around Rp 200 million (around $21,750) for
sending two-person teams periodically to document the individuals
involved in the racket. In conducting the investigation, the team
had to pose as timber businessmen or bird-watchers.

Several members of the teams received threats from
unidentified persons, who felt threatened by their
investigations.

"With regard to the bureaucrats, we didn't have many problems.
They were cooperative. But some of our friends received phone
threats saying that they would harm their families," said Yahya.

But, the threats did not deter them from going ahead with the
investigation. However, the deforestation of more than three
million hectares a year was more fearful to them than the
threats.

Moreover, the investigators felt that the Papuans had suffered
losses from the rampant theft, he said.

"An elderly villager in Papua once told us how timber
companies extracted 5,000 cubic meters of merbau from a site but
only paid the locals Rp 7 million," the report said.

Merbau is one of the most valuable species of wood in
Southeast Asia and is often used as flooring. It is worth about
US$270 per cubic meter. (006)