Ministry Of Transportation Arrests Counterfeit Document Maker Of Illegal Logging Syndicate In East Kalimantan

The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) managed to secure one of the actors in the illegal logging case who made fake documents to send hundreds of illegal processed wood from Berau to Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan (Kaltim).

Head of the Forestry Law Enforcement Center for the Kalimantan Region of the Ministry of Forestry, Leonardo Gultom, as confirmed from Jakarta, Thursday, said that the MN perpetrators as the document maker. The fake Kayu Olahan Forest Products (SKSHH-KO) were successfully secured in Blitar Regency, East Java, on Tuesday, November 4.

The arrest of MN revealed the fact that the practice of illegal logging is an organized crime syndicate. Therefore, I ask investigators to continue to investigate this case, in order to reveal the possibility of other perpetrators involved in this syndicate," said Leonardo.

After going through a series of examinations and the fulfillment of preliminary evidence, investigators named MN as a suspect and had been detained at the Samarinda Police Detention Center. He explained that from the hands of the investigators, the investigator confiscated a laptop and flash drive used to make fake documents.

The arrest of MN is the development of the investigation of suspect P who was caught red-handed by the Joint Operations Team of Balai Gakkumhut Kalimantan and the East Kalimantan Forestry Service on May 31, 2025, carrying processed wood using fake SKSHH documents.

Leonardo explained that MN's mode of making fake documents was carried out by downloading SKSHHK documents on the online Forest Products Entrepreneurship System (SIPUHH), then editing the document by changing the date, origin of the delivery, destination of delivery, the identity of the conveyor, as well as the number, type and volume of processed wood to resemble the valid SKSHHK document.

As for the signing of the publisher, the perpetrator attached a scan of the signature of the document.

In a similar statement, the Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Forestry Dwi Januanto Nugroho stated that law enforcement efforts against the practice of illegal logging will continue to be carried out consistently, in order to provide a deterrent effect and prevent the use of illegal timber forest products that have an impact on ecological damage and state losses.

"I express my gratitude and appreciation for the cooperation and synergy of the Directorate General of Forestry Gakkum at the regional level with relevant agencies in uncovering this case. Thank you Balai Gakkumhut Kalimantan, Balai Gakkumhut Jabalnusra, and the Satreskrim Polresta Samarinda Unit Jatanras. I am optimistic that this will give better hope for governance and strengthening forestry law enforcement in the future," said Dwi Januanto.