Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Police are still looking for logging boss Adelin Lis, whose whereabouts have been unknown since he was acquitted of corruption by a court here on Monday.

His acquittal has caused a furor among environment and legal activists across the nation, while the Medan Police want to question him in relation to a new set of charges.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Sisno Adiwinoto said Wednesday the police were still pursuing Adelin and that he should be banned from leaving the country.

In Medan, North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Nurudin Usman said the police had no information on the whereabouts of Adelin. However, he said he had ordered his men to search widely.

Moreover, the North Sumatra Police have formally placed Adelin on their most-wanted list, the DPO. "As of Wednesday we have officially placed him on the DPO," he said.

The police, Nurudin said, were also coordinating with the North Sumatra Provincial Prosecutor's Office to prevent Adelin from escaping overseas.

"We have asked the prosecutor's office to extend Adelin Lis' travel ban notice. The National Police sent the notice two weeks ago to the prosecutor's office," he said.

The police want Adelin for questioning in relation to his alleged role in a money laundering case. A source at the local police said that the money laundering case was closely connected to the corruption and illegal logging charges that saw Adelin before the court in the first place.

Insp. Gen. Sisno Adiwinoto said the police had coordinated with the Medan Provincial Prosecutor's Office on Monday to re-arrest Adelin the moment he was freed from the state penitentiary where he was being detained while on trial.

"We were ready to re-arrest him on money laundering charges," he said. "But when our officers came on Tuesday morning, it turned out that Adelin has been freed by the prosecutors on Monday night," he said. (adt)