Tribratanews.polri.go.id - Balikpapan. As many as four cases of illegal coal mining in the last month were successfully revealed by the East Kalimantan Police's Criminal Investigation Department.
Director of Special Criminal Investigation of the East Kalimantan Police, Commissioner Indra Lutrianto Amstono explained that the four illegal mines were spread across North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara Regencies. In more detail, the Director of Special Criminal Investigation of the East Kalimantan Police explained, the four locations include Tengkorak Hill, Sukomulyo Village, Sepaku District, which is part of the orangutan conservation area, Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF), Samboja, Kukar. And also in the Soeharto Tahura Hill area, Samboja.
"These four locations have caught our attention because they are part of the new capital city of Indonesia and part of conservation areas, so they must be protected at all cost," explained the Director of Criminal Investigation at the East Kalimantan Police, Friday (30/9/2022) afternoon.
In the disclosure of the four locations, the police also confiscated evidence of heavy equipment, pontoons, and thousands of metric tons of black gold. In addition, the East Kalimantan Regional Police also named five people as suspects.
“The five of them have a major role in the operation of the illegal mine. So far, operators and drivers have only been examined as witnesses," he explained.
He further said that he is currently hunting for other perpetrators who are strongly suspected of being one of the investors in illegal mining. "We already have their identity," he concluded.
