East Kalimantan Police Examine 9 People Related To Illegal Mine KRUS

Head of Public Relations of the East Kalimantan Police, Kombes Yuliyanto (ANTARA/Muhammad Solih Januar)

BALIKPAPAN - Polda Daerah (Polda) East Kalimantan (Kaltim) has examined nine people related to alleged illegal mining activities that damaged the conservation forest area of Mulawarman University Samarinda (KRUS) Botanical Gardens.

"We ask for information about nine people related to the alleged illegal mining, the investigation stage process," said Head of Public Relations of the East Kalimantan Police, Kombes Yuliyanto, as reported by ANTARA, Saturday, May 17.

The examination, including parties from Mulawarman University, but because it is still under investigation, the identity of the person being examined cannot be disclosed to the public.

The East Kalimantan Regional Police also coordinated with the Directorate General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Gakkum LHK), agreed to distribute the law enforcement authority between the two institutions.

"The LHK Gakkum will handle forest destruction, while the Regional Police will handle the illegal mining aspect," he said.

However, there has been no issuance of a police report (LP) because investigators are still collecting preliminary evidence, he continued, the status of the new case can be upgraded to investigation if the results of the case title show sufficient evidence.

"Later, after the title of the investigation is sufficient evidence! To be upgraded towards the investigation, then the LP will be issued," he added.

The process of disclosing cases also faced a number of obstacles in the field, especially because illegal mining activities were not found when the investigative team arrived at the scene.

One of the obstacles in illegal mining cases is when investigators only find the marks, he explained, and have to find out who actually did that.

The East Kalimantan Regional Police Team conducted a crime scene (TKP), there were no more mining activities at the location, heavy equipment that was previously seen in the viral video recording was also not operating and it made it difficult for investigators to find out who the main perpetrator was.

"The East Kalimantan Regional Police ensures that they will continue to investigate the alleged violation of the law thoroughly, if the evidence is deemed sufficient, the legal process will continue to be investigated," said Yulianto.