Timber theft on the rise

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: A local forestry official has complained that timber theft from the forests of southern Kendari are on the increase and that the forest police are unable to cope.

Antara quoted La Ndimasa as saying yesterday that the South Kendari district's 11,000 hectares of hardwood forest are protected by only 30 forest police with three motorcycles.

"We've done everything to curb theft here, but rather than stopping, the number has increased," La Ndimasa said.

He said the timber thieves used chain saws and transported the logs in trucks. "Even if we catch them red-handed, we can't do much, because the thieves operate in groups of 10 to 20 people. Some are even armed."

The timber is usually taken out of the region on boats or sold to timber traders in Kendari. "It's easy for them to transport the logs because they are protected by officers in uniform," he said.

In the past two years, La Ndimasa's office has confiscated at least 2,000 cubic meters of stolen timber. On Muna island, 10,000 cubic meters of timber are stolen every year, he said. (swe)