Ministry of Forestry Team Captures Forest Encroacher in Elephant Corridor at Seblat Nature Reserve

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Joint Operation Team Merah Putih Bentang Alam Seblat from the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) has arrested an encroacher in the forest area of the Seblat Nature Reserve (TWA) in Bengkulu, which serves as a corridor for Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus). In a statement confirmed from Jakarta on Thursday, the Director General of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Forestry (Gakkum Kemenhut), Dwi Januanto Nugroho, explained that the Merah Putih Operation Team successfully secured the suspect with initials D, who was illegally controlling land to convert it into an oil palm plantation in the elephant corridor area. The arrest occurred during a joint team effort comprising the Sumatra Region Law Enforcement Agency of Kemenhut, the Bengkulu Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), the Kerinci Seblat National Park Centre (BBTNKS), the Bengkulu Environment and Forestry Office (DLHK), TNI, and Polri, which was conducting area enforcement on 19 April 2026. During the operation, officers faced resistance from two unidentified individuals who attacked the team and damaged three operational vehicles using sharp weapons. Officers managed to subdue D, who was identified as the owner of the hut and oil palm garden at the location. Based on sufficient preliminary evidence and a case review with the Bengkulu Provincial Police’s Criminal Investigation Directorate, investigators designated D as a suspect on 20 April 2026. He is now being held at the Branch Detention House of the Bengkulu Provincial Police for further legal proceedings. The suspect D is accused of conducting activities incompatible with the function of the nature conservation area, facing a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to Rp5 billion.