Riau Police Arrest 7 Masterminds Of Forest And Land Fires

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The Riau Police have arrested seven suspects who were the masterminds behind forest and land fires in a number of districts/cities.

Director of the Riau Police Ditreskrimsus Kombes Nasriadi said the seven people were arrested after allegedly burning land in Dumai City, Rokan Hilir Regency and Bengkalis Regency.

They deliberately burned to clear land quickly so that the land could be executed immediately.

"Everything is being processed, a suspect who was last arrested is in Rohul (Rokan Hulu). For those in the Meranti Islands it is currently under investigation, because there are people who are suspected of deliberately burning on someone's orders," he said, quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, August 1.

He said that until now the suspects who were detained were still individuals and there were no indications of being carried out by the corporation, but the legal process related to the 1,500 hectares of land fires.

The total area of burned land is actually a lot or more of that. If there are indications of a fire being carried out by the corporation, his party insists it will not hesitate to take legal action.

Ditegaskan, Polres serta Polsek jajaran pun masih terus memantau titik api hingga proses refrigerasi. Pihaknya mengimbau masyarakat untuk tidak melakukan pembakaran apapun alasannya.

"This is very vulnerable and dangerous for the environment and society," said Kombes Nasriadi.

An inventory data from the Operations Control team of the Riau Regional Disaster Management Agency noted that on July 23, 2024, there were around 1,073 hectares of burned forest, mineral and peat land.