Kemenhut Jerat Pidana Penjara 12 Pelaku Tambang Emas Ilegal di TN Tanjung Puting

Illustration: A dozen rafts for the Illegal Gold Mining (PETI) action that were successfully secured by the joint operation team of the Ministry of Finance and the National Police in Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, Saturday (15/11/2025). ANTARA/HO-Kemenhut

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) has ensnared 12 suspects of Unauthorized Gold Mining (PETI) in the Tanjung Puting National Park (TN), Central Kalimantan, which is the habitat of Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) with the threat of imprisonment and fines.

Head of the Forestry Law Enforcement and Administration (Gakkum) Regional Office of Kalimantan Kemenhut Leonardo Gultom stated that the investigation process was carried out again after the pre-trial application was rejected by the Pangkalan Bun District Court (PN).

"The Central Kalimantan High Prosecutor's Office stated that the case file of 12 suspects was complete, then all the case files were forwarded to the West Kotawaringin District Prosecutor's Office for prosecution," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, March 3.

He said the 12 suspects, namely HD (45), SEL (27), HT (50), HM (41), KA (46), KE (48), YH (30), JM (43), SY (45), MR (40), SPY (48), SLA (41) were charged with a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of Rp. 10 billion.

This is in accordance with Article 89 paragraph (1) letter a of the RI Law No. 18 of 2013 concerning the Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction as amended by Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 6 of 2023 concerning the Regulation of the Government to replace Law Number 2 of 2022 concerning Job Creation into Law.

The investigation conducted was a follow-up to the joint operation activities in Tanjung Puting National Park which were carried out in November 2025 by a team from the Tanjung Puting National Park Office (BTNTP), the Kalimantan Regional Gakkum Office, the Central Kalimantan Police Criminal Investigation Unit and Brimob.

In the joint operation, 12 perpetrators who were carrying out gold mining activities in the Tanjung Puting TN area, which is an orangutan habitat, were caught. The perpetrators were then secured and taken to Palangka Raya for further investigation.