"Currently, the Forestry Ministry has sealed or is verifying the sites of 11 legal entities, namely four corporations and seven PHATs (Land Rights Holders)," Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said in a statement on Thursday.
The four companies are PT TPL, PT AR, PT TBS/PT SN, and PLTA BT/PT NSHE, as well as the seven PHATs: JAM, AR, RHS, AR, JAS, DHP, and M.
The number of business entities prosecuted by the Forestry Ministry includes the three PHATs: JAS, AR, and RHS.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) of the Forestry Ministry also conducted field verification and crime scene investigations at the locations of the PT TBS/PT SN and PLTA BT/PT NSHE corporations and discovered warning signs from the Forest Area Enforcement Task Force (PKH) at the locations.
Based on the investigation, it is suspected that a criminal act of harvesting or collecting forest products within the forest has occurred without the necessary rights or approval from authorized officials.
The Gakkum team is currently gathering evidence to determine the perpetrators' ecosystem network and the modus operandi behind the forest ecosystem destruction that resulted in the hydrometeorological disaster of flash floods and landslides in Tapanuli Selatan District.
At PHAT JAM, the Gakkum team found several pieces of evidence suspected of being linked to illegal harvesting or scavenging of forest products. These include approximately 60 logs, 150 pieces of processed wood, one excavator, one damaged bulldozer, one damaged logging truck, two splitting machines, one planer, and one drilling machine.
Gakkum will further investigate the connection of the found evidence to the ongoing investigation into the company, which involved the discovery of four trucks loaded with timber originating from the PHAT JAM location without proper documentation.
The Forestry Minister explained that to strengthen the investigation, the Civil Servants Investigator (PPNS) Team of the Directorate General of Forestry Law Enforcement is coordinating with the Tapanuli Selatan District Government to secure the evidence.
"We hope the local government can support the Gakkum in enforcing the law in this case, considering the extraordinary impact of this crime. In addition to causing damage to the forest ecosystem, it also compromises the safety of the people," Antoni said.
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Translator: Arie Novarina
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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