New Straits Times 25 Jan 12;
PORT KLANG: A local timber contractor, believed to be involved in smuggling of mangrove logs, was detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) after he tried to bribe state Forestry Department officers.
The 40-year-old suspect was nabbed on Jan 19 after he offered a bribe of RM3,000 to a forest ranger, hoping the Forestry Department would return items seized during a raid. The timber contractor is being held at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya, after his statement was recorded last Friday.
The suspect is currently being investigated under section 17(b) of the MACC Act 2009 and the National Forestry Act 1984.
Selangor Forestry Department assistant director (operations and enforcement) Mohd Yussainy Md Yusop said a joint operation involving two MACC officers and 13 Forestry Department officers raided the Pulau Klang and Telok Gong forest reserves, here last Thursday.
He said the raid was conducted after his department's officers monitored logging activities for the past month in the two areas.
Yussainy said in the 19-hour joint operation, they seized an assortment of machinery, including a wooden boat filled with 110 mangrove logs, a Yamaha motorboat engine and an oil drum.
He added the seized items were valued at RM50,000 and were taken to the forest ranger's office, here.
It was after this that the suspect appeared offering a bribe of RM3,000 to reclaim the seized items, he said.
He added that the suspect was subsequently detained by MACC officers.
He said during their raid, they also discovered several temporary logging storage facilities.
"The logs were ready to be shipped out to Indonesia."
Yussainy claimed that mangrove log smugglers, a majority of whom were Indonesians, were getting "inside help" to obtain timber from the country
Joint effort by government agencies lead to arrest of mangrove crook
Stuart Michael The Star 26 Jan 12;
AN individual believed to be the mastermind behind cases of mangrove thefts in Pulau Klang and Telok Gong, Klang has been caught, thanks to the joint effort of the Selangor Forestry Department, Malaysian Anti Corruption Agency (MACC) and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
The man was nabbed after he tried to bribe Selangor Forestry Department assistant director (Enforcement) Mohd Yussainy Md Yusop to release the items seized suring a raid last week.
He is being charged under Section 17 (B) under the 2007 Anti Corruption Act. The case is also being investigated under the 1984 National Forestry Act.
According to Yussainy, the man approached him and asked if he would accept RM3,000 to release some 110 cut mangrove logs (3.5m to 4m long), a wooden boat, a boat engine and a barrel of fuel that were seized during a raid off Pulau Klang Forest Reserve and Telok Gong Forest Reserve last week. The enforcement team comprised two MACC officials, three MMEA officials and 13 Selangor Forestry Department officials.
“The items seized were first placed at Kg Perajurit, Telok Gong before they were moved to the ranger’s office in Port Klang.
“The man came to the ranger’s office and wanted to take possession of his items. He was willing to give RM3,000 to get them back.
“The MACC officers who were there immediately caught the individual and he was sent to Putrajaya where his statement was recorded,’’ said Yussainy.
In Selangor, the stealing of mangrove logs in Port Klang has been the talk of the town as the state has 18,088ha of mangrove forest.
“Finding it difficult, the thieves try different methods and ways to evade the authorities by declaring that the logs are from the neigbouring countries. However, because of the high demand for mangrove logs, thieves are willing to take the risk of being jailed or fined to rake in the profits.
“The pathway to the area where mangrove logs are being cut is very narrow and it also depends on the tide that changes every four hours. By catching the mastermind, we hope others in the area would think twice before stealing mangrove logs,’’ said Yussainy.
34 mangrove smugglers held
New Straits Times 1 Feb 12;
KLANG: Some 34 foreigners were arrested and eight boats seized during a crackdown on mangrove tree smuggling here on Monday night.
In the joint operation by the Selangor Forestry Department, Maritime officials and men from Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission at Sungai Chondong here, mangrove trees worth RM110,000 were seized.
Forestry Department assistant deputy director of enforcement (forest) division Mohd Yussainy Md Yusop said the men claimed they had permits to import the mangrove trees.
"However, checks revealed none of the eight boats had permits to import the trees and had been involved in mangrove thefts in the country and in Indonesia. The trees are believed to have been cut from a forest reserve in Selangor," Yussainy said yesterday.
The eight suspects, all Indonesians, were remanded to facilitate investigations.
