Kemenhut Reveals Modus of Forging Documents of Thousands of Wood in East Kalimantan

Kemenhut officers and a joint team secured 1,205 logs of wood without valid documents in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Monday (6/7/2026). ANTARA/HO-Kemenhut

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) together with a joint team has successfully uncovered the alleged circulation of illegal wood using a false document modus in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan and seized 1,205 logs.

Director General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) of the Ministry of Finance Dwi Januanto Nugroho said the Regional Forestry Law Enforcement Agency of Kalimantan together with the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate (Ditreskrimsus) of the South Kalimantan Police, the South Kalimantan Forestry Service, and the Kodam VI/Mulawarman Military Police revealed the alleged circulation of illegal wood forest products in CV MA in an operation that took place since July 6, 2026.

"The supply chain of wood must be free from gray areas. Every wood that moves from the source, processing, transportation, to the final destination must be able to trace its origin and legality. If the documents are used to give a legitimate impression to the problematic wood, the disruption is not only law enforcement, but also trust in forest management and business actors who work according to the rules," said Januanto as reported by ANTARA, Monday, July 13.

He said the Ministry of Finance continued to strengthen supervision of the circulation of forest products to prevent illegal wood from entering the supply chain.

The joint operation began with a report from the public regarding the alleged spread of wood circulation using invalid documents in East Kalimantan. Following up on the information, the joint team conducted field checks and found evidence of possession, transportation, storage, processing, and circulation of processed wood that did not comply with the provisions.

Head of the Kalimantan Regional Forestry Gakkum Office, Leonardo Gultom, said his party had examined S, as the owner or business manager, three workers, and M who was transporting processed meranti wood using a truck and would unload the cargo.

He explained that from the initial investigation, S allegedly ordered and purchased processed wood, using documents that were allegedly invalid to transport wood from Berau to Balikpapan, then stored and processed the wood at the CV MA accumulation site to be sold again.

From the location of the business and the transporting vehicle, officers secured a truck and its load of processed wood, 1,205 processed wood logs of various sizes and types, two wood-splitting machines, and two bags of sawdust from processing.

Investigators are investigating the possibility of another network that plays a role in making, providing, or trading documents used to transport and distribute processed wood.

Regarding the wood transported by M, the officers found the use of a Certificate of Validity of Wood Processed Forest (SKSHH-KO) which was suspected to be invalid. Investigators from the Kalimantan Gakkumhut Office together with the East Kalimantan Police conducted an in-depth investigation regarding the origin of the wood, the validity of the documents, the suppliers, the recipients, and the parties who were suspected of making or providing invalid documents.

"In this case, investigators not only look at the wood found at the location. What we are studying is how the wood was ordered, purchased, transported, stored, processed, and sold. We also delve into the use of SKSHH-KO which is suspected to be invalid, including the alleged use of serial numbers of documents that have previously been used for transportation at other locations," said Leonardo Gultom.