157 Sacks of Suspected Gold Ore Seized from Lombok Conservation Area, Eight Detained

A joint team from the Ministry of Forestry, the Indonesian Army, the West Nusa Tenggara Environment and Forestry Service, and the Regional Police’s Civil Service Investigative Unit has uncovered a distribution route for illegally mined material from the Tanjung Tampa Nature Tourism Park conservation area on Mount Prabu, Pujut District, Central Lombok Regency. The operation on Monday resulted in the seizure of 157 sacks of rock suspected to contain gold, along with one dump truck and one pickup vehicle, and the detention of eight individuals. The case began with a public tip-off about vehicles repeatedly transporting sacks of rocky material from the Mount Prabu area. Officers conducted surveillance at a suspected loading point and observed material being transferred from wooden boats to the dump truck and pickup on the coast of Kuta Village. After the vehicles left the location, the team followed and intercepted them in Ketara Village, Pujut District. The discovery points to an organised transport route, with material moved by wooden boat from the mining site before being transferred to land vehicles for onward distribution. Aswin Bangun, Head of the Forestry Law Enforcement Agency for the Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara region, stressed that the investigation will not stop with the eight suspects caught in the act. He said investigators are actively tracing those who ordered the activity, financed the operation, provided transport, or received and profited from the illegal mining, emphasising that law enforcement must sever the entire criminal chain to eliminate networks that exploit conservation areas for unlawful gain. The Head of the West Nusa Tenggara Natural Resources Conservation Agency, Arap, warned that the Tanjung Tampa Nature Tourism Park is not only a sanctuary for flora and fauna but also a landscape and tourism asset for the region. He stated that unchecked illegal mining would degrade these functions and pledged to strengthen patrols in vulnerable areas while expanding community involvement in surveillance and early reporting. Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement Dwi Januanto Nugroho asserted that the state will not tolerate the illegal exploitation of conservation areas for the profit of a few. He said conservation areas are established to protect Indonesia’s natural wealth and ensure their benefits are enjoyed by current and future generations, and that law enforcement will be directed at breaking the entire criminal chain, from field operatives to those who control, finance, and profit from these crimes. The suspects are charged under Article 90 paragraph 1 in conjunction with Article 17 paragraph 1 letter c of Law Number 18 of 2013 on the Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction, as amended by the Job Creation Law, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to IDR 2 billion.