Jakarta – The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Directorate (Dittipidter) said it will investigate a company linked to logs washed away by flash floods in Garoga, Batang Toru, South Tapanuli, North Sumatra. The company is suspected of clearing land upstream of the river. “Tomorrow, the team’s investigative activities will continue with an inspection of one of the companies located upstream of the Garoga River, indicated by land clearing activities by the company PT TBS,” National Police Criminal Investigation Director, Brigadier General Mohammad Irhamni, said in his statement, Monday (8/12/2025). Scroll TO CONTINUE CONTENT. However, Irhamni did not elaborate further regarding the company, including the company’s operation. He only stated that his party took 27 samples of logs washed away by flash floods in Garoga. The samples were taken to investigate the origin of the logs. “Around the crime scene (Garoga watershed) 27 wood samples were taken, a police line was installed,” said Irhamni. Bareskrim also collaborated with experts to study the types and specifications of logs. “The timber evidence has been set aside, specified and categorized by experts. The dominant types of timber are rubber, ketapang, durian and others,” he explained. Based on the identification results, continued Irhamni, it was known that there was human intervention in the logs. It is known from the presence of saw marks and heavy equipment. “Identification of timber shows various categories of sawn timber, timber removed with roots (heavy equipment), timber resulting from landslides, timber resulting from transport by loaders,” he explained. Earlier, as reported by detikSumut, the Minister of Environment/Environmental Control Agency (KLH/BPLH) Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said there is an oil palm plantation company with an opening of about 200 hectares in the upper reaches of the Garoga River. He said that this oil palm plantation also contributed to the worsening of surface flow in the Garoga River during high rainfall. “However, we will of course recalculate, but the number of collapses is indeed a very large contribution. Experts can please do analysis using maps, conditions by satellite, but it must be compared with field conditions,” Hanif said at an interview on Saturday (12/6). Hanif said that Garoga Village was lost due to floods and landslides. All the houses were buried with earth and wood. (ond/lir)