Kapuas Hulu Police, West Kalimantan Ordered Illegal Gold Mining

KAPUAS HULU - Law enforcement officers from the Kapuas Hulu Police, West Kalimantan, together with a joint team carried out control of illegal or illegal gold mining activities in Tanjung Harapan Village, Suhaid District, Kapuas Hulu.

"The control is carried out by burning mining equipment found at the Rantau Penawan location, which was abandoned by the mining actors," said Head of the Kapuas Hulu Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Iptu Rinto Sihombing in Kapuas Hulu, Antara, Sunday, September 15.

When the joint team arrived at the location, no mining activities took place, however, they found a number of equipment used in the illegal mining activities.

"We found 14 likes of equipment used in PETI activities, and we burned all of these equipment as firm action," he said.

The action in the form of burning mining equipment was carried out to stop illegal gold mining activities that could potentially damage the local environment.

Rinto emphasized that this step was needed to overcome the negative impacts caused by PETI, including environmental pollution. "We take this action as an effort to stop illegal activities that clearly damage the environment," said Rinto.

This control was carried out after reports from the public and the circulation of videos of PETI activities on social media. The local community is worried about environmental damage caused by illegal mining activities.

Following up on this, the Kapuas Hulu Police Chief immediately ordered a control operation at the reported location. From the results of the interrogation, the joint team identified the owner of the mining area as a resident of Menapar Village, Suhaid District, with the initials D. Meanwhile, the coordinator of PETI activities at the location is known to have the initials DM alias D, a resident of Tanjung Kapuas Village, Suhaid District.

"Meski demikian, saat penertiban berlangsung, tidak ada penambangan yang berhasil ditangkap di tempat kejadian. Kami sudah sering sering memberikan imbauan dan melakukan sosialisasi kepada masyarakat terkait bahaya aktivitas PETI, namun karena masih terus terjadi, penindakan tegas perlu dilakukan," tuturnya.

With this firm action, Rinto hopes that PETI activities in the Kapuas Hulu area can be suppressed and reduced. He reminded that people who want to work in the mining sector must do it legally, follow the applicable rules so that mining activities do not cause environmental damage and do not violate the law.

"We hope that people who work in gold mines can do it according to the right and legal procedures. That way, they can work safely and the environment is also protected," he said.

In this control operation, the joint team consisted of various parties, including TNI personnel, Polri, Satpol PP, and a number of local residents. This operation is part of a joint effort to eradicate illegal gold mining activities that are still rife in the Suhaid District area.