Revealed! Protected Forest Illegally Traded, Three Suspects Arrested
The practice of buying and selling illegal land plots has become one of the methods for seizing control of protected forest areas in East Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi. In the uncovering of this case, three people were arrested after being caught red-handed cultivating a protected forest area that had been cleared without a permit for plantation purposes.
Head of the Sulawesi Regional Forestry Law Enforcement Agency (Gakkum) at the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut), Ali Bahri, stated that the three suspects, identified by the initials AR, AI, and AW, were detained during an operation on Monday last week. In this case, officers discovered alleged compensation transactions for the land plot from the previous cultivator. The transactions were conducted informally without a permit or any valid legal basis.
The cleared land covers approximately 1.5 hectares and was used to plant around 1,500 pepper trees. “Practices like this must be stopped from the outset. State forest areas cannot be bought, sold, or transferred without a valid licensing mechanism,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (11/8/2026).
Officers also seized evidence including a work hut and equipment used for plantation activities within the protected forest area.
Ali stated that the case demonstrates forest encroachment does not always begin with the direct clearing of land. Control of the area can start with illegal land plot transactions, which then pass from one cultivator to another. “If this pattern is allowed to continue, encroachment will keep shifting from one person to another and eventually spread. Our law enforcement is directed not only at stopping the perpetrators but also at breaking the chain of practices that drive the expansion of forest destruction,” he said.
For their actions, the three suspects face a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine of up to IDR 7.5 billion.
Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Forestry, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, said that enforcement against the illegal seizure of forest areas is being continuously strengthened to protect the function of forests and the sustainability of natural resources. “Law enforcement is not only aimed at stopping ongoing violations but also at ensuring that forest areas maintain their ecological function and providing a deterrent effect so that similar crimes do not recur,” he said.
The Ministry of Forestry considers that stopping the practice of illegal land transactions is crucial to preventing the seizure of forest areas from developing into wider encroachment. Enforcement is also directed at maintaining legal certainty over the status of forest areas while preventing land use without a legal basis.