The West Kalimantan Police have named five individuals suspects after they were allegedly caught red-handed illegally exploiting protected forests for timber on Mount Bawang in Bengkayang regency, West Kalimantan, an official has said.

“The five individuals have been charged under Law No. 18/2013 on the prevention and eradication of forest damage,” the West Kalimantan law enforcement task force head for the Pontianak area, David Muhammad, said on Monday.

The five loggers were allegedly caught last week by the West Kalimantan Police cutting down trees using chainsaws in Meranti, Keladan and Majau. The police's forest unit confiscated stacks of wood that had already been cut, a makeshift workshop and a railway used to transport the wood. The wood was allegedly to be sold to buyers in Singkawang and Bengkayang.

The task force also raided a wood-processing workshop in Bengkayang over the weekend and confiscated at least 512 pieces of wood and work machines.

Mount Bawang is situated 1,460 meters above sea level. The protected forest is home to endangered plants such as ironwood and animals endemic to the region, such as orangutans, Enggang birds and sun bears. (swd)