Police arrest illegal logging financier
Police arrest illegal logging financier
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Police have arrested a man suspected of financing illegal logging
activities after embarking on a field operation to curb the crime
in Papua.
Director of special crimes at the National Police Brig. Gen.
Suharto told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that the police arrested
the suspect, identified only as Asoy, in Jakarta late on Friday.
"The suspect is on the list of 32 names supplied by the
Ministry of Forestry to us," Suharto said.
He said the suspect had already been taken to Sampit in
Central Kalimantan, where he had been operating his illicit
business.
The police also seized several units of heavy equipment and a
barge full of timber in Kalimantan in connection to the illegal
logging allegedly financed by Asoy.
Suharto said police investigators were also looking into the
possibility of Asoy's involvement in illegal logging in Papua, as
investigators suspected the confiscated timber came from Papua.
Shipping documents claimed the timber came from Kalimantan and
was heading for Sarawak in Malaysia.
Separately, Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban welcomed
the police action, saying the suspect was facing multiple charges
that would make it difficult for him to escape justice.
"He can be charged with violating environmental law, tax
evasion, and money laundering," Kaban said as quoted by Antara.
He said that since people involved in illegal logging
activities were often interconnected, the capture of one
financial backer would invariably lead to the capture of others
involved in the criminal syndicates.
"The President has instructed us to get whoever is involved in
these crimes and to hand out the harshest possible punishments
against them," he said,
He played down possible resistance from certain elements of
the military or supposedly "well-connected" people to the drive
against illegal logging. "The President has ordered us to carry
out shock therapy, meaning that a sacrifice will be acceptable
for the good of the country," he said.
Based on ministry data, Indonesia suffers financial losses of
some Rp 30 trillion (US$ 3.3 billion) every year due to the
illegal removal and smuggling of timber.
Apart from businessmen, the list of 32 alleged timber
smugglers released by the ministry also includes officials from
local administrations, forestry agencies, and local police and
military command posts.
During the operation in Papua that began on Saturday, code
named Hutan Lestari (Protect the Forests), police seized four
barges loaded with heavy logging machinery and approximately
3,000 cubic meters of valuable Merbau timber.