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View all search resultsPolice seize thousands of timber products from illegal logging in Riau
Detectives spent a week navigating rivers and thick forests to reach the location.
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Officers from Indragiri Hulu Police take a rest on top of stacks of wooden beams produced from suspected illegal logging activities inside Kerumutan Forest in Indragiri Hulu regency, Riau on Dec. 4, 2025. Police found some 300 cubic meters of timber in the operation. (Courtesy of Indragiri Hulu Police/-)
W
hile its northern neighbors reel from natural disasters amplified by deforestation, the province of Riau remains afflicted by illegal logging, as demonstrated by the police seizure of 300 cubic meters of timber products in Indragiri Hulu and Indragiri Hilir regencies.
Stacks of timber products were first detected by Riau Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Jossy Kusumo while flying over Indragiri Hulu on board a helicopter on Nov. 21. Neatly stacked timber products were seen along a canal in the middle of peatland.
Jossy sent a video recording and location coordinates to Indragiri Hulu Police chief, Adj. Sr. Comr. Fahrian S. Siregar, who responded by ordering detectives chief Adj. Comr. Arthur Josua Toreh to form three teams to conduct field verification.
The first team was led by First Insp. Awet L. Nainggolan and Second Insp. Riki Rahmadi through a land route in Sukajadi village, Kuala Cenaku district, on Nov. 28. The 12-kilometer route was reportedly over rough terrain.
“The team had to open its own way and walked for hours through bush and dense forests,” said Fahrian said on Friday.
“The search was halted and the team had to return in the middle of the night to ensure personnel safety given the lack of light.”
The next day, the second team resumed the search along a route inside PT Sumatra Riang Lestari’s concession area.
