JAKARTA - The Directorate General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) of the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) arrested one of the key actors of a network of illegal logging in Baluran National Park, East Java, who was the coordinator of an illegal logging group.
Head of the Java Bali and Nusa Tenggara Gakkum Office of the Ministry of Home Affairs Aswin Bangun explained that the team arrested AH in Situbondo who played a role in controlling field operations, as well as a key actor who coordinated several illegal logging teams in the TNBaluran area.
"Handling this case does not stop at one name. The network of illegal logging perpetrators in Baluran National Park has been mapped and the parties on the search list are still being hunted down one by one," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, March 10.
"We appeal to other parties who are still at large to surrender, we will continue to enforce the law firmly until all the chains of perpetrators, including those who enjoy the fruits of this crime, can be revealed," added Aswin.
AH was named a suspect after two missed summonses as a witness in the logging case carried out by another suspect with the initials HK.
Based on sufficient evidence, the Civil Servant Investigator (PPNS) then determined AH as a party involved in the illegal logging network in the Baluran TN area.
The matter began on November 16, 2023 when a joint operation team followed a car suspected of transporting illegally logged wood from TNBaluran.
The vehicle was then found abandoned by the perpetrator in Sidowangi Village, Wongsorejo District, Banyuwangi Regency, with a load of logs of teak that fell from the vehicle. Officers then secured 10 logs of teak and one car.
The Gakkum investigators of the Ministry of Manpower then developed the investigation until on September 23, 2025, they managed to arrest HK, whose case had been referred to the Banyuwangi District Attorney's Office.
From the development of the case, AH's involvement strengthened until it was finally secured on March 4, 2026, showing that forest law enforcement continues to move along the entire chain of the illegal logging network.
In a similar statement, the Director of Forestry Complaints Prevention and Handling of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Yazid Nurhuda, emphasized that illegal logging in national park areas cannot be seen as a common crime.
"Illegal logging not only damages the forest ecosystem, but also damages a healthy timber trade. When illegal wood enters the market at a cheap price, law-abiding business actors are actually harmed by unfair competition," he explained.
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