The West Nusa Tenggara High Prosecutor's Office (Kejati NTB) is investigating allegations of corruption in illegal gold mining activities in the Sekotong hills area, West Lombok Regency.
The head of the NTB Prosecutor's Office, Enen Saribanon, confirmed the direction of the investigation when confirmed in Mataram, Antara, Friday, May 23.
"Yes, with the naked eye there is (an element of corruption), but this is still under investigation," Enen told reporters.
Because it is still in its early stages, Enen has not been able to explain in detail the progress of the investigation. He emphasized that his party was still clarifying and collecting documents to strengthen findings in the field.
"Later we will hold it to see if it will be improved to the next stage or not," he said.
He added that this investigation was different from the handling of similar cases by the West Lombok Police and the Environmental and Forestry Law Enforcement Center (Gakkum KLHK).
"We focus on the criminal aspect of corruption," said Enen.
The investigation by the NTB Prosecutor's Office is a follow-up to the results of coordination with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Previously, the KPK found illegal gold mining activities that were allegedly managed by foreign workers (TKA) from China in the Sekotong area.
Head of the KPK Region V Coordination and Supervision Task Force, Dian Patria, said that the value of illegal activities was estimated at IDR 1.08 trillion from only one exploit location with three stockpiles.
This value was obtained from the results of a field visit with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), the NTB LHK Service, and the NTB Energy and Mineral Resources Service (ESDM).
According to data compiled, mining activities have been ongoing since 2021 on an area of 98.16 hectares, which is located in a limited production forest area and is included in the mining business permit (IUP) area of PT Indotan.
The NTB LHK Service noted that there were at least 26 illegal mining points in Sekotong, most of which were in the PT Indotan IUP area.
Dian also mentioned the use of heavy equipment and imported chemicals, such as mercury and cyanide from China, in the gold processing process. These materials have the potential to pollute the environment, including water sources and coastal areas below the mining area.
"There are special heavy equipment and tarpaulins for the cyanide watering process, as well as very dangerous mercury waste," said Dian.
As a follow-up, the KPK has installed a warning sign for the ban on illegal mining activities at the Lendek Bare Hamlet, Sekotong District, West Lombok Regency.
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This step is part of prevention efforts within the framework of the Monitoring Center for Prevention (MCP), with the aim of encouraging optimization of local revenue (PAD) and increasing accountability for natural resource management.
"This is to ensure that PAD management is carried out in a transparent and accountable manner," concluded Dian.
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