Ministry Of Transportation Unloads Illegal Kayu Smuggling Via Sea Toll Road In Maluku

The Directorate General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Forestry (Gakkum Kemenhut) succeeded in uncovering an illegal timber smuggling case using a sea toll road and processing the law of the NS suspect in Ambon, Maluku.

Head of the Balai Gakkum Forestry for the Maluku and Papua Regions of the Ministry of Forestry Fredrik Tumbel conveyed that the suspect's case file (P-21) with the initials NS had been declared complete by the Public Prosecutor of the Maluku High Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday, November 26.

"The purpose of law enforcement is not only to take action against perpetrators, but also to prevent people from falling further into the practice of illegal timber circulation. The state is not present to be hostile to the people, but to ensure that forest management takes place fairly, legally, and provides benefits to the community in a sustainable manner," he said when confirmed from Jakarta, Antara, Friday, November 28.

"We want to have a deterrent effect, not break people's livelihoods. Law enforcement aims to stop those who control and trade forest products illegally, so that people do not continue to be sacrificed in the chain of violations," added Frederik.

The legal process was carried out after the suspect NS was suspected of deliberately buying, receiving, storing, possessing, transporting and marketing forest products in the form of black belo wood originating from the production forest area, collected without rights and without valid documents.

From the suspect's hands, officers secured evidence which included 44 black belo wood blocks of around 5.50 cubic meters and a number of evidence for electronic financial transactions related to the illegal timber buying and selling network.

For his actions, NS was threatened with a maximum imprisonment of 5 years and a fine of up to IDR 2.5 billion.

The case was revealed from the operation carried out by the Kakatua Brigade Rapid Response Police Unit (SPORC) team on August 1-10, 2025. The team took action against the illegal timber distribution network that was transported by sea using the Kendahaga Nusantara 12 Sea Toll Ship from Sesar Bula Port, East Seram Regency to Surabaya.

During the operation, the team managed to secure a total of 3,321 pieces of black belo wood, 93 pieces of boards and 11 documents of transportation as initial evidence.

Until now, investigators from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Gakkum are still completing the evidence and tracking other parties suspected of being involved in the illegal timber distribution network from Maluku.