JAKARTA - The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) has named four foreign nationals (WNA) from China as suspects in the case of unlicensed gold mining (PETI) in the KM 95 forest area in Nabire Regency, Central Papua.
Director of Criminal Forestry Enforcement of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Rudianto Saragih Napitu, said that the four Chinese WNA each had the initials LH, LL, FW, and PJ.
They were named as suspects and became part of the development of forest area security operations by the Halilintar Forest Area Enforcement Task Force (PKH) which previously found 10 units of heavy equipment and forest area openings of around 199.9 hectares at the activity location in early May 2026.
"The PKH Task Force operation at KM 95 Nabire opened the initial fact of the presence of heavy equipment, opening areas, workers, and alleged gold mining activities without permits in the forest area. After the four suspects were arrested and detained, investigators strengthened the construction of the case through the examination of witnesses, evidence, digital forensic experts, and mining experts," said Rudianto as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, May 28.
"Not only that, the Directorate General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) of the Ministry of Finance also coordinates with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) and other related institutions to investigate the possibility of the involvement of other parties in controlling operations, financing and obtaining results from illegal activities.
The determination of the suspect was carried out after the examination of witnesses, deepening of evidence, and the title of the case by the Gakkum investigators of the Ministry of Finance together with the Korwas of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police and the Attorney General's Office. The four Chinese nationals were then detained on Sunday (24/5) and placed at the Biak Police.
The four were charged with the provisions of the 2013 Law Number 18 concerning the Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction. The suspects are threatened with a maximum prison sentence of 15 years and a fine of up to Rp. 10 billion.
The Director General of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Dwi Januanto Nugroho, in a similar statement stated that in the case in Nabire, the action was taken because of the alleged gold mining without a permit in the forest area.
Illegal activities like this damage the environment, make natural wealth out of the right governance, and have the potential to reduce state revenues and economic benefits that should be felt by the community.
"The detention of these four suspects confirms that the state maintains that Indonesia's natural wealth is managed through the law, benefits the people, and is not damaged by illegal practices," said Dwi Januanto Nugroho.
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