JAKARTA - The Directorate General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Forestry (Gakkum Kemenhut) and the Situbondo Police have secured one of the members of a illegal logging syndicate in Baluran National Park, East Java.
Director of Forest Complaints Prevention and Handling of the Directorate General of Gakkum Kemenhut Yazid Nurhuda, as confirmed from Jakarta, Monday, said the arrest of SB was a follow-up to the arrest of the key actor in the previous illegal logging case with the initials HK whose group activities caused forest damage in Baluran National Park.
"From the beginning we focused on the role of field controllers, mapping the network of illegal logging syndicates starting from logging in forest areas and the circulation of illegal logging wood," said Yazid as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, December 29.
The arrest of SB was carried out by the Regional Forestry Gakkum Office of Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara (Jabalnusra) together with the Situbondo Police on Friday (26/12) in Situbondo after the suspect failed to meet the investigators' call twice.
The case of illegal logging was revealed starting from a joint operation to eradicate illegal logging in Baluran National Park in November 2023 which mapped the network of illegal teak logging and distribution.
In a series of actions, several perpetrators have been arrested, while HK, who is a key actor, was arrested on September 23, 2025. From HK's statement, it is known that three other perpetrators, one of which is SB, who had previously issued a search warrant (DPO) for the East Java Police.
The other two perpetrators are still being pursued as part of efforts to eradicate the illegal logging syndicate completely.
Regarding this case, hundreds of teak logs have been secured along with various means of transportation and wood processing equipment.
Yazid highlighted that Baluran National Park is one of the key conservation areas in Java with a typical savannah ecosystem and teak plantations that are important for the protection of land, water sources, and wildlife habitats.
Illegal logging in the area, he said, was not just a loss of teak wood, but undermined the function of the national park as a buffer ecosystem that would have a major impact on ecological disasters if no prevention efforts were made.
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