Minister Of Forestry Explains Chronology Of Cannabis Field Findings In Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park

Minister of Transportation Raja Juli Antoni (center) and Director General of KSDAE Satyawan Pudyatmoko (left second) at the event at TMII, Jakarta, Tuesday (18/3/2024) ANTARA/HO-Kemenhut

JAKARTA - Minister of Forestry (Menhut) Raja Juli Antoni explained the discovery of a marijuana field in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (TNBTS) thanks to the collaboration of the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) and the National Police. He also denied this was the reason for the closure.

"That the cannabis field was not the work of friends from the National Park there. But it was in collaboration with the police to find the fields," said Minister of Transportation Raja Juli Antoni in a confirmed statement in Jakarta, Tuesday, March 18, confiscated by Antara.

Speaking after the event at TMII, Jakarta, today, the Minister of Transportation said that the discovery of the cannabis field area was carried out using drones and mapping with the Indonesian Police and the Forest Police. He said this at the same time denied the issue linking the closure of the TNBTS because of the cannabis land.

"Use drones of all kinds, and it is not related to the closure of the national park. The issue is 'oh closed so that the marijuana is not caught, instead with drones, and friends in the National Park who find the point with Polhut, we withdraw it and become evidence that we bring to the police," said Minister of Transportation Raja Antoni.

"God willing, none of our staff are like that, there are also the most common cassava," he added.

On the same occasion, the Director General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation (KSDAE) of the Ministry of Transportation Satyawan Pudyatmoko explained that the TNBTS helped uncover the area of land planted with marijuana. His party dispatched officers, Forest Police to Manggala Agni to check the location using drones.

"That was actually a finding in September 2024, at that time there was indeed an investigation by the National Police who arrested the suspect who had the marijuana field, then we from the National Park helped reveal where the marijuana field was. Because the marijuana field is usually planted in places that are relatively difficult to find, so we dispatched officers including the Head of the National Park Center at that time, Polhut, Mitra Polhut Community and also Manggala Agni who were there, all went to the field assisted with drone technology," Satyawan said.

Satyawan said that his party then mapped a number of areas where it was known that there were marijuana plants. Furthermore, the TNBTS Center and the police carried out the revocation of the cannabis plant to be handed over as evidence to the police.

"We mapped it out, there were several points where there were marijuana, we counted it, then the revocation was carried out and after that of course there was a process to the court, so starting from the beginning of the discovery of the marijuana field to the cleaning and court process we continue to carry out escorts," he said.

The Ministry of Transportation itself will continue to carry out intensive patrols. This is expected so that similar cases do not occur again in national parks.