Jakarta – Too many illegal logging suspects are being acquitted by the courts and others are receiving light sentences, say National Police chief Gen. Sutanto and Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban.

Speaking after a meeting at Kaban's office Wednesday, Sutanto and Kaban said the judgments would undermine people's faith in the justice system.

The pair said they were especially concerned about the decision by courts in Papua to acquit 18 people accused of illegal logging, including alleged financiers, during the past year. Many other suspects had received lenient sentences from the courts, they said.

"We are very disappointed about what has happened in Papua. We initially hoped courts would hand down severe punishments to the offenders. Tough sentences would set an example to future violators," Sutanto said.

Sutanto's visit to Kaban's office came four days after the police chief held an event to make the force's 60th anniversary in Aceh on Saturday. Kaban said cracking down on illegal loggers was one of the ministry's top priorities this year.

"Many cases of illegal logging (in Papua) have been processed but we are not happy with the results," Kaban said. He blamed judges for the verdicts but did not accuse them of taking bribes or colluding with loggers because "we have no proof".

Kaban said the ministry would set up a special team in cooperation with the National Police and the Attorney General's Office to monitor all illegal logging that went to court.

The team would also issue legal opinions on the cases, he added. "The legal opinions will then be sent to the Supreme Court so it can understand the problems in the field," Kaban said.

Sutanto said he hoped the public and the media would help monitor the investigations into illegal logging suspects across the country.

The police and the ministry have launched a series of raids on illegal logging operations this year. Hundreds of suspects, including illegal logging financiers, have been arrested in Papua. Authorities are still hunting down 25 logging "bosses", according to the ministry.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said Tuesday a former two-star Army general and two company directors had been arrested for alleged involvement in illegal logging on Borneo island.

The three, retired general and former lawmaker Gusti Syaifuddin, and directors Arifin and Darul Hakim, were responsible for overseeing "the unlawful logging of trees and their sale" to Singapore and Malaysia, Anton said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared a war on illegal logging in March last year, an industry that environmentalists estimate to be worth around US$3 billion annually.

Much of the country's forested areas are also being lost to palm oil plantations, with planted areas soaring from 120,000 hectares in 1968 to 5.5 million hectares in 2004.

The World Wide Fund for Nature warned earlier this year that bogus plantation projects were often serving as fronts for logging ventures. After the forests of valuable timber were cut down, the areas were left as wasteland, it said.