Jakarta, Nov. 30 -- Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry is investigating whether timber carried by recent floods in Sumatra originated from illegal logging and permit fraud schemes.

Director General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) of the ministry Dwi Januanto Nugroho said on Sunday that the wood found in flood-hit areas may have come from multiple sources, ranging from fallen trees and river debris to logging sites and illegal practices.

"The timber swept away by the floods could originate from various sources - decayed trees, river materials, legal logging areas, or misuse of land-rights permits (PHAT) and illegal logging," Nugroho explained.

He stressed that the ministry's focus is to professionally trace every indication of...