Police Brigadier General Irhamni: Environmental Crime Increasingly Sophisticated, Law Enforcement Must Collaborate
The Director of Certain Crimes at the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri), Brigadier General Muhammad Irhamni, has emphasised the need to strengthen enforcement strategies and synergy among law enforcement officers to eradicate crime in the Natural Resources and Environment (SDA-LH) sector. Irhamni stated this is crucial because SDA-LH crimes are becoming increasingly modern, sophisticated, and organised, exploiting regulatory loopholes and utilising complex corporate instruments.
He made these remarks while attending the National Symposium on the SDA-LH Crime Outlook 2026-2030, organised by Auriga Nusantara. ‘Environmental crime in the modern era can no longer be faced with conventional, reactive methods. Perpetrators of SDA-LH crimes now operate in an organised manner, exploiting regulatory loopholes and using complex corporate instruments. Therefore, the law must not be left behind; law enforcement officers are required to have analytical sharpness equal to that of researchers and academics in mapping these new modus operandi,’ Irhamni told reporters on Friday.
Irhamni assessed that sectoral ego has often been the biggest stumbling block in resolving cases of environmental destruction. Based on the data and studies presented in the outlook, Irhamni believes it is time for the Police, the Attorney General’s Office, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), and relevant ministries to dissolve bureaucratic boundaries in order to build an integrated database system. ‘This multi-sectoral collaboration is the key to dismantling structured environmental mafia networks,’ Irhamni asserted.
Furthermore, Irhamni highlighted that the criminal law approach should not stop merely at punishing field operatives or low-level intellectual actors. He stated that the focus of law enforcement in the future must shift towards a ‘follow the money’ approach to pursue corporations that damage the environment and seize their criminal assets. ‘Recovering state losses and the ecosystem is far more crucial than just imprisoning front-line workers. That is why we need a follow the money approach to pursue the corporations and seize the proceeds of their crimes,’ he added.
He also stressed the importance of integrating academic research into case investigation files. According to him, expert testimony from environmental scientists and studies from university law faculties should become primary instruments to strengthen evidence in court. By treating science and scientific data as a main pillar of investigation, the loopholes that allow perpetrators to escape legal entanglement can be significantly narrowed.