Bareskrim Investigate The Origin Of Kayu Gelondongan Who Was Carried By Floods In Sumatra

Residents observed logistical debris carried by flash floods in Aek Garoga Village, South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, Saturday 29 November 2025. (ANTARA PHOTO-Yudi Manar)

The Directorate of Certain Crimes (Dittipidter) of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police is investigating the findings of logs that were carried away by flash floods in North Sumatra and West Sumatra.

"It is under investigation," said the Director of Certain Crimes (Dirtipidter) of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police, Brigadier General Moh. Irhamni, when contacted by the media, Tuesday, December 2, 2025.

The logs that were washed away during the natural disaster were in the public spotlight because they were suspected of being related to illegal logging practices in the affected areas. However, Irhamni emphasized that his party could not confirm the origin of the wood.

"It's not yet known where it came from," he said.

Previously, the Regent of Central Tapanuli (Tapteng), Masinton Pasaribu, confirmed that the logs carried by the flood were the result of illegal logging. He conveyed this in a telephone conversation with his colleague at the PDI Perjuangan, Rieke Diah Pitaloka.

"I make sure the illegal logging," he said in a video uploaded via the TikTok account @riekediahp_official, quoted last Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Forestry indicated that the wood came from the Land Rights Holder (PHAT) area in the Other Use Area (APL). The Director General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) of the Ministry of Law, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, mentioned the provisional suspicion that the logs were used logs that had been weathered and dragged by the flood currents.

"We detected that it was from PHAT in APL. In the identified logging area, the natural wood management mechanism continues to follow forestry regulations, namely through SIPU, Forest Results Arrangement Information System," he explained.