Jakarta - More than a dozen senior police officers have been
grilled for their alleged roles in illegal logging in West Kalimantan
province on the Indonesian portion of Borneo island, local media
reports said Wednesday.
National police chief General Sutanto had vowed to take legal
action against any police officer involved in illegal logging or log
smuggling in the country.
'We want to deal with illegal logging activities conclusively.
Whoever is suspected to be involved will be investigated,' the
state-run Antara news agency quoted Sutanto as saying.
At least 14 police officers in West Kalimantan province were being
held at the national police headquarters in Jakarta for questioning,
he said.
'The investigations are being conducted by the National Police
general supervisory inspector,' Sutanto said, adding that they were
questioned on suspicion of having colluded with log smugglers in West
Kalimantan.
Sutanto, who like many Indonesians goes by only name, said he
supported the forestry ministry's plan to cooperate with neighbouring
countries, such as Malaysia, in an attempt to stop log smuggling from
the country.
West Kalimantan police last month named 26 people as suspects in
illegal logging cases, including 14 boat crew members, six officers
of the Ketapang transportation service, eight illegal log owners -
with two of them still at large - and one mediator between illegal
logging financiers and loggers.
Police continued their manhunt for four Malaysians who have been
named suspects in connection with illegal logging in West Kalimantan
province.
In March, police seized around 12,000 cubic metres of illegal logs
worth about 208 billion rupiah (22.6 million dollars), which were
about to be smuggled to Malaysia from the province's Ketapang
district, the report said.
According to the environmental watchdog Greenpeace, Indonesia had
the world's fastest rate of deforestation between 2000 and 2005, with
the equivalent area of some 300 football pitches cut down every hour.
Deforestation is regarded as the main factor for Indonesia turning
into the third largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the
world.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared a crackdown in 2005
against deforestation in the country, and promised harsh penalties
for officials involved in illegal logging which has been blamed to
have triggered flash floods and landslides in several regions in the
country.
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