Selangor Forestry Department officers counting the seized mangrove logs left on the fringe of Pulau Carey. — NST pictures by Sairien Nafis

SELANGOR Forestry Department assistant director (operations and enforcement) Mohd Yussainy Md Yusop cuts a forlorn figure as he glares at an abandoned squatters' settlement on the edge of a mangrove forest.

The "crime scene" is littered with the debris of life: empty tins, shirts and barrels, but Yussainy knows the thieves, mainly Indonesian immigrants, will return.

The score? Money for mangroves, which are harvested illegally but methodically.

He laments the problem of finding evidence against the ringleaders who make only verbal contracts with the workers. 

"The biggest difficulty is linking the workers to the syndicate bosses,"

There are an estimated five syndicates which surreptitiously harvest from 17,000ha of mangrove forest spread out across several islands including Pulau Carey, Pulau Selat and Pulau Klang.

Depending on the operation, a mangrove tauke has about 30 to 100 workers who live in the middle of the islands, visible only during an aerial survey.

They amass the cream of the crop, piling them on huge barges before selling them to locals who in turn make a fortune in trafficking the much sought-after wood, used in the construction sector as a cheap alternative to concrete pilings.

Compounding the problem, Yussainy claimed, is the various authorities who, though equipped with the latest technology and boats with more powerful engines, seem unable to nab the sluggish junks en route to the mainland.

That could be because, Yussainy claims, there is a degree of corruption in the area, which once also saw him being offered a total of RM100,000 by five smugglers just before Hari Raya.

"After that offer, I began to work with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission," he said.

An expose by Berita Harian in August revealed that Immigration officers at the Pulau Ketam jetty were pocketing RM60,000 a month by allowing entry of illegal immigrants, which Yussainy claims is related to the mangrove theft.

The department's efforts are also hampered by 'slow boats' and the lack of enforcement officers, who in Selangor number three people -- including Yussainy.

Nabbing the thieves is difficult, unless they get the help of the army to navigate.

"Even then, it's very time-consuming and difficult." he said.

If things go on as they are, Yussainy says the mangrove ecosystem will be extinct in the next decade.

Which is why the department is working with the MACC, Customs Department and maritime enforcement officials to cripple syndicates and make mangrove theft "impossible".

Since July, the department has stopped issuing harvesting licences and began confiscating wood left at the river fringes, before it can be ferried to the mainland.

It has also begun jailing the offenders instead of having them deported.

The most recent case saw five people imprisoned for 11 months early last month under the National Forestry Act for being in possession of mangrove logs without a licence.

The department is also working with non-governmental organisations, such as the Global Environment Centre and Sahabat Alam Malaysia, on replanting projects.

"But obviously, replenishment isn't going as quickly as depletion."

Read more: MANGROVE THEFTS: A swampy network that eludes authorities http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/07mangrove/Article#ixzz1ADwZJSWJ