Banyumas Police Uncover Illegal Gold Mine, Name Three Suspects
The Criminal Investigation Unit (Satreskrim) of the Banyumas Police Resort in Central Java has uncovered an illegal gold mining practice located in Grumbul Karangalang, Paningkaban Village, and its processing in Grumbul Babakan Kidul, Gumelar Subdistrict, Banyumas Regency. In the revelation, the police have designated three suspects.
The three suspects are SRO alias BDI, 51, NM alias AYG, 50, and SBN alias UDN, 56. All three served as investors as well as managers of the mining and gold processing activities without official permits.
Banyumas Police Chief Kombes Petrus P Silalahi stated that the uncovering of the illegal gold mining practice followed a report from the community. “The revelation stemmed from a resident’s report regarding mining and gold processing activities without permits on community-owned land. The raid was conducted by Unit IV Satreskrim on Tuesday (31/3),” he said during a press conference on Monday (6/4).
According to him, the three individuals arrested are investors as well as managers of the mining and gold processing activities without official permits. “They conducted mining activities without possessing licensing documents such as IUP, IUPK, IPR, or SIPB as required by applicable regulations,” he emphasised.
The Police Chief explained that in uncovering the case, the police found suspicious activities at two locations. There, the police discovered a mining hole with a depth of about 55 metres and a mouth size of 80 centimetres x 80 centimetres that was still actively in use.
In addition, officers also found workers who were digging materials to then process them independently to separate the gold content. “From the examination results, one mining hole can produce around 7 grams of gold every week with an economic value of approximately Rp10 million,” he revealed.
In their operation, said Petrus, the perpetrators applied a profit-sharing system. 30% of the profits went to the investors, 30% to the landowners, 20% allocated for operational costs, and the remaining 20% for workers’ wages.
LONG-RUNNING OPERATION
The investigation also revealed that this activity had been ongoing for quite some time. SRO has been involved since 2012 as a worker before switching to an investor. Meanwhile, NM and SBN began actively opening new locations since 2017 until 2025. “Although it temporarily stopped because the gold content was depleted at one site, the perpetrators continued to seek new locations without obtaining official permits,” he explained.
The three suspects are charged under Article 158 and/or Article 161 of Law No. 3 of 2020 on Mineral and Coal Mining. “They face a maximum prison sentence of five years and fines up to Rp100 billion,” he said.
Currently, the suspects along with evidence in the form of mining equipment and processed gold results have been secured at the Banyumas Police Resort headquarters for further investigation. “We will firmly address all forms of illegal mining because, besides violating the law, it also has the potential to damage the environment,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Geology, Minerals, and Coal Section at the Central Java ESDM Branch Office for the Southern Slamet Region, Heru Subekti, emphasised that there had previously been a gold mining permit. “Several years ago, there was one, but the process did not continue. So, up to now, there is absolutely no gold mining permit. Thus, it can be confirmed that any gold mine is unlicensed,” he stressed.