JP/01/GRAPHIC

International Timber Smuggling Syndicates from Papua to China

Jakarta and Surabaya: Brokers and Security Providers Jakarta and Surabaya companies controlled illegal logging operations on the ground in Papua. Government officials involved in the racket gave legal documents for vessels carrying smuggled timber to sail through Indonesian sea.

Malaysia: Logging operations and Logistics Provides the heavy machinery and technical expertise required to cut down the merbau trees. Fake documents to disguise the origin of the timber were given fro Malaysian businessmen.

Singapore: Traders and Shippers Acts as a major regional hub in the illegal logging business. Singapore-registered ships and barges ferry illegal logs out of Indonesia.

Hong Kong: Brokers and Buyers Hong Kong based trading firms provide the link between suppliers in Indonesia and buyers in the burgeoning timber manufacturing industry of mainland China.

China: Final Destinations In China, the main entry ports of merbau logs are Zhangjiagang and Shenzhen.

Source: The Last Frontier: Illegal Logging in Papua and China's MAssive Timber Theft. A report by Environmental Investigation Agency and Telapak, February 17, 2004.