Papua Police seize illegall logs

Papua Police seize illegall logs

Police officers in Papua inspect over 60 illegally cut logs of
various types on board the Tujuh Buana I barge (see photo). The
vessel was seized by the police's air and water units off the
coast of Yanma, some 75 kilometers west of the provincial capital
Jayapura, an official said on Monday.

Jansen Maarisit, the captain of the Tujuh Buana 2, which was
hauling the Tujuh Buana I, was arrested and named a suspect for
illegal possession of the timber, which did not have the
necessary documents. He could be charged with violating Law
41/1999 on forestry.

"The logs did not have an official mark imprinted on them,
which is supposed to be done by the forestry office to declare
them legal," a police officer, who declined to be named, said on
Monday.

Jansen claimed that the logs belonged to PT Salaki in Jayapura
and were being delivered to a plywood mill owned by PT Wapoga
Mutiara Industries on Biak island, which is part of Papua
province.

"The logs were to be shipped to a plywood mill on Biak, which
is owned by Wapoga. They were not going to be shipped outside the
province," Jansen explained.

When asked about the timber and Jansen's statement, PT
Wapoga's manager in Jayapura, Musriadi, said he had no knowledge
of the logs. "Maybe (they were being shipped to Biak), but the
logs are not ours," he stated.

-- JP/Nethy Dharma Somba