Lampung Police Designate 14 Individuals as Suspects in Illegal Gold Mining Operation
Lampung Police’s Special Criminal Investigation Directorate (Ditreskrimsus) has successfully dismantled an illegal gold mining operation in Way Kanan Regency. During the enforcement operation, police secured 24 individuals, with 14 formally designated as suspects.
The case disclosure was announced directly by Lampung Police Chief Inspector General Helfi Assegaf, accompanied by Army Brigadier General Andrian Susanto, Deputy Police Chief Brigadier General Sumarto, and Colonel David Medion during a press release at Lampung Police Headquarters on Tuesday, 10 March 2026.
Assegaf emphasised that this disclosure represents Lampung Police’s commitment to taking firm action against illegal mining practices that not only violate the law but also have potential to damage the environment and cause substantial losses to the state.
“In the enforcement operation conducted by Ditreskrimsus Lampung Police on Sunday, 8 March 2026, we successfully apprehended 24 individuals from an illegal gold mining site located on PTPN I Regional 7 plantation land in Way Kanan Regency. From the examination results, 14 individuals have been designated as suspects, whilst 10 others remain as witnesses and are undergoing further investigation,” the Police Chief stated.
The enforcement action took place at seven locations in Blambangan Umpu Subdistrict, within the plantation management rights area of PTPN VII, including areas along Lintas Sumatera Road at Sungai Betih, Lembasung Village, and along Martapura Lintas Road at kilometres 6 and 9 of Blambangan Umpu, as well as several locations along the Betih River.
During the operation, officers also seized numerous heavy machinery and mining equipment used for illegal mining activities. The seized evidence included:
41 excavator units (7 units secured at Lampung Police headquarters, 2 units in transit, and 32 units still at the crime scene)
24 diesel-powered dredging machines
47 jerrycans of diesel fuel
17 two-wheeled vehicles
1 four-wheeled vehicle
Based on preliminary investigation results, the illegal mining activity is estimated to have operated for approximately 1.5 years across approximately 200 hectares of land.
Lampung Police Chief revealed that when calculated based on potential gold production, the illegal activity generated extremely substantial profits. “Assuming one machine produces five grams of gold per day and with approximately 315 machines operating, total daily production is estimated at 1,575 grams of gold. With gold prices around Rp1.8 million per gram, the potential gross revenue from this illegal activity could reach approximately Rp2.8 billion per day or Rp73.7 billion monthly,” he explained.
Overall, estimated state losses from this illegal mining practice are estimated to exceed Rp1.3 trillion.
The suspects are charged under Article 158 in conjunction with Article 35 of Law Number 3 of 2020 concerning Minerals and Coal, with penalties of up to 5 years imprisonment and/or fines up to Rp100 billion.
Additionally, Lampung Police will coordinate with the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) to further calculate state losses and environmental damage from the use of hazardous chemicals such as mercury or cyanide in gold processing.
Lampung Police Chief affirmed that this case will continue to be developed to uncover possible involvement of other parties in the illegal mining activity. “Lampung Police is committed to taking firm action against all forms of illegal mining. We also urge the public not to become involved in unauthorised mining activities as it violates the law and damages the environment,” he stated firmly.
Lampung Police also invited the public to play an active role by reporting any illegal mining activities in their areas, as a form of collective participation in protecting environmental sustainability and upholding the rule of law in Lampung Province.