MAKASSAR, Indonesia — Indonesian authorities have arrested a 72-year-old South Korean national for allegedly running a sand quarrying operation in a protected forest area in West Sulawesi province. The incident marks a rare instance of a foreign citizen charged with environmental crimes in the world’s largest archipelagic country. The operation involved multiple agencies, including the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, police, and military officers in the semi-remote village of Lariang in Pasangkayu district, located on the coast around 150 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the nearest major city, Palu. Arresting officers seized four excavators, a wheel loader, and three dump trucks used to transport sand. Investigators said they believe the South Korean man, identified by police only by his initials, Y.K.Y., wasn’t just the investor behind the sand extraction, but also managed operations on the ground. Aswin Bangun, head of the environment ministry’s law enforcement division in the Sulawesi region, said the case came to light with a public report complaining of illegal sand mining activities in the protected forest area. Televised news showed the 72-year-old in an orange detainee’s vest being led through a press pack accompanied by Rasio Ridho Sani, the head of the environment ministry’s enforcement division, known as Gakkum. Gakkum has extensive powers and has arrested foreign nationals in the past for wildlife crimes. However, it’s rare for the division to detain foreigners accused of small-scale logging and mining, which are typically crimes perpetrated by local elites or individuals with low incomes and few opportunities. In…This article was originally published on Mongabay
S. Korea dune merchant, 72, held over sand mining in Indonesia mangrove forest
