Seven Illegal Loggers Arrested!

JAMBI, KOMPAS - Seven illegal loggers in Sungai Kumpeh restricted production forest, Sungai Kumpeh district, Muaro Jambi, got arrested by the joint team of the Forestry Service and the Police of Jambi. The authorities are still tracking the men behind this illicit activity.

 "All suspects are probably just casual lobors, so we have to dig deeper to find who is behind this," said the head of Forestry Service of Jambi, Irmansyah Rachman on Sunday (2/8).

The arrest was made through a joint operation on Friday (31/7). When the authorities arrived at the location, all suspects were working on the logs. They are Mj (36), ISH (20), RH (33), Bh (37), Tm (41), Tj (42), and BH (33). Five of them came from Lampung, while the other two are from Jambi.

Along with the suspects, the authorities also confiscated 5 chainsaws, 1 generator, and 4 motorbikes that were used to transport the logs. After being tarnsported using the bikes, the logs will be moved to a truck awaiting just outside the forest.

5 Years of Crime

The practice of illegal logging in state forest in that area has been underway for the past five years. The joint operation is a follow up to the Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya, to Jambi last month.

On her visit to monitor the forest fire from above, Siti Nurbaya also found out about the illegal logging. Then, she ordered the local authority to crack it.

According to Irmansyah, they had similar operation at the same location last year. The team only found chainsaws, but the men escaped upon knowing the presence of authorities.

The Chief Commissary of Indonesian Forest Enterpreneur Assiciation of Jambi, Budi Hartoyo, in different ocassion said that the association has not obtained a clear view on this matter, or about logging in that area. However, he added  that the association highly appreciates the law enforcement effort.(ITA)

Source: http://print.kompas.com/baca/2015/08/03/Tim-Gabungan-Tangkap-Tujuh-Pembalak-Liar

 

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