DUMAI - The Dumai Police, Riau Province, have secured two perpetrators of encroachment on natural conservation forests in Tanjung Palas Village, East Dumai District. The two were caught red-handed while clearing land using one unit of heavy equipment type excavator in the natural resource conservation area.
Dumai Police Chief AKBP Angga Febrian Herlambang explained that the disclosure of the case began with community information regarding forest encroachment activities in conservation areas.
Following up on the report, a police team was deployed to the location and found an offender with the initials SU operating heavy equipment to clear the land.
"The modus operandi in carrying out the action, SU as the operator of heavy equipment and SR who claimed to be the owner of the land, carried out land clearing with heavy equipment in one of the natural resource conservation areas in Dumai City," Angga said at a press conference in Dumai, Antara, Thursday, February 12.
Angga said that the two perpetrators did not have legal documents on the basis of the land rights they worked on. They invaded the forest area by making ditches or canals and roads that were planned to be used as oil palm plantations.
At the scene, the police found a forest area that had been cleared using a chainsaw, as well as land that had been leveled using heavy equipment.
"This activity is clearly against the law because it is carried out in a conservation forest area without a permit," said Angga.
For their actions, the two perpetrators were charged with Law Number 32 of 2024 concerning the Conservation of Natural Living Resources and Ecosystems, with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Angga appealed to the public not to open land in conservation forests and not to accept or do any work that is clearly within the forest area without valid legality.
Head of Criminal Investigation Unit of Dumai Police, AKP Agung Rama, added that any form of land opening in a conservation area, whether using heavy equipment or manual methods, is a criminal offense if it is not accompanied by an official permit.
"For the estimation of the potential state losses, this is still in the process of counting. This law enforcement is our commitment in maintaining environmental sustainability and preventing damage that impacts the ecosystem, flooding, and losses to the wider community," he said.
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