inp.polri.go.id – Palembang. The joint task force between Ditpolairud and the Ditreskrimsus of the South Sumatra Police along with the Directorate General of Law and Human Rights of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry had uncovered illegal logging in Muara Medak Village, Bayung Lencir District, Muba Regency.
A total of 18 people were arrested, six of whom have been named suspects. The authorities described the six of them as four loggers and wood pullers and the other two as truck drivers. Meanwhile, 12 other people were apprehended and identified as a witness because they also played a role in doing the illegal logging.
The police also secured the evidence in the form of 500 wooden blocks or 1,019 sticks and the remaining 13 km were still in the illegal logging location with the condition still being washed away in the elephant trench.
South Sumatra Police Chief, Inspector General Toni Harmanto said that the disclosure of illegal logging cases began with coordination with the Directorate of Prevention and Security at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLH).
"We coordinated with the joint team to go directly to the location which is in the middle of the forest. It took about 12 hours to the location of the illegal logging. They have been operating for about eight (8) years since 2013. We searched using drones, helicopters, and boats. We found the wooden blocks in a trench about 13 kilometers, floating.” said the Two-Star General.
In the same place, the Jambi Police's Direskrimsus, Commissioner Barly Ramadhani, explained that of the 18 people who were detained at the location, six of them became suspects, and the remaining 12 people became witnesses.
The suspects were charged under Law No. 18 of 2020 concerning work labor with a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment or a fine of 500 million to 2.5 billion.
