Police Sweep Illegal Gold Mining Sites Across Three Villages in Kuansing, Destroy Mining Rafts
Kuantan Singingi (Kuansing) Police, through the Singingi Sector Police, moved swiftly in response to community reports of illegal gold mining activity (known as PETI — Penambangan Emas Tanpa Izin) across three villages. No perpetrators were found at the three locations, but police destroyed a number of mining rafts (dompeng).
Kuansing Police Chief AKBP Hidayat Permana said the operation was conducted on Monday afternoon (16 February) after his office received information from residents about illegal gold mining still active in three villages in Singingi subdistrict, namely Sungai Bawang, Sungai Sirih, and Sungai Kuning villages.
The sweep operation, led by the Criminal Investigation Unit head, aimed to verify field intelligence and take firm action against illegal mining infrastructure still found in the area.
“Based on field observations, the team combed through locations suspected of being centres of PETI activity. In Sungai Bawang village, officers found one PETI raft abandoned along the riverbank in a non-operational state,” said AKBP Hidayat in a statement on Thursday (19 February 2026).
The sweep then continued to Sungai Sirih village, where officers found another similar raft. The team then proceeded to Sungai Kuning village, where they again discovered a PETI raft that had also been abandoned by its owner.
To ensure the illegal mining equipment could not be used again in the future, the Singingi Sector Police chief ordered his personnel to neutralise the equipment on site.
“The rafts found in Sungai Sirih and Sungai Kuning villages were immediately subjected to firm action in the form of destruction and burning at the discovery sites,” he said.
The Police Chief added that this measure was taken as a demonstration of Singingi Sector Police’s commitment to eradicating PETI practices that have a detrimental impact on river ecosystems and environmental preservation. Although no workers were found at the sites during the raid, police stressed that monitoring would continue on a regular basis.
He also expressed appreciation for the active role of the community in providing information regarding the locations of illegal activity. The police urged residents to cease unlicensed mining activities and shift to economic sectors that are more environmentally friendly and compliant with prevailing regulations.