Antara News·Indonesia·Sunday, August 23, 2026 at 01:49 AM

Indonesia arrests six for illegal logging in Sumatran tiger habitat

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Prisca Violleta, Uyu Liman

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Forestry Ministry uncovered an illegal logging operation inside Riau's Kerumutan Wildlife Reserve — a habitat for the critically endangered Sumatran tiger — after spotting a camp during an aerial forest fires patrol.

Authorities named six suspects and are pursuing several others who fled the scene, according to a ministry statement released on Saturday.

"We are expanding the investigation to determine who ordered, financed, prepared the equipment, and received the illegally logged timber," Head of the ministry’s Sumatra Region Forestry Law Enforcement Center Hari Novianto said.

Officials discovered approximately 60 cubic meters of processed timber at the site, which Novianto noted had been active for roughly two months.

The logging camp was detected from the air by a patrol team monitoring the region for fires. Investigators seized three timber samples, three chainsaws, two bicycle tires, and four mobile phones as evidence.

The suspects face between two and 11 years in prison, alongside heavy fines under national forestry laws.

Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement Dwi Januanto Nugroho stressed that the incursion poses a grave threat to the reserve's fragile ecosystem.

"Kerumutan is facing severe pressures ranging from forest fires to illegal logging. What we are protecting is not just the forest stand, but also the habitat of the Sumatran tiger and other wildlife, as well as the forest's function in supporting the livelihoods of surrounding communities," Nugroho remarked.

The ministry pledged to reinforce security measures at the reserve through enhanced ground patrols, technological surveillance, and local community involvement.

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