Twenty-one containers of illegally harvested ironwood from Papua were seized by Indonesian authorities last week.
The wood was harvested from the Kaimana tropical forest and was en route to the major port city of Surabaya when it was intercepted, AP reported. Falsified verification documents were allegedly used to transport the illegally logged wood from warehouses at a West Papua port.
A director for one of the companies involved in the scheme has been arrested and could face a fine of up to $140,000 and up to 15 years in prison.
The amount of timber seized was minuscule compared to the amount of smuggling that regularly occurs in Papua, a province of Indonesia, Greenpeace Indonesia told AP.
The effectiveness of Indonesia’s Timber Verification and Legality System has received criticism.
