Nine Malaysians arrested in Papua

Nine Malaysians arrested in Papua

JAYAPURA, Papua: Papua police arrested nine Malaysians in Sorong and Manokwari, Papua for alleged involvement of illegal logging while they were attempting to transport logs to their home country, Antara reported.

They were arrested on Jan. 5, but their arrest was made public on Thursday.

"They were arrested on charges of illegal logging and violations on immigration and forestry laws," Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Budi Utomo said.

Three of the Malaysians were arrested in Manokwari waters while three others were caught red-handed chopping trees in a concession area belonging to a company in Sorong.

Rampant deforestation in the country has damaged at least 40 percent of the country's million of hectares forest areas, most of it perpetrated by Indonesian citizens in collusion with certain officials, but very few, if any, have been arrested. --Antara