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