Vedro Imanuel Girsang, Jakarta – Indonesian National Police have uncovered an illegal mining operation in the Bukit Soeharto Conservation Forest located in Samboja District, Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan, an area that serves as an ecological buffer zone for Indonesia's new capital city, Nusantara (IKN).
The illicit coal mining activity is believed to have been operating since at least 2016.
The operation has caused extensive environmental damage to the protected forest.
"It will take around Rp1 trillion to restore the Tahura ecosystem," said Brigadier General Mohamad Irhamni, Director of Specific Criminal Acts at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department, during a press conference on Saturday, November 8, 2025.
Irhamni explained that the natural conditions in Bukit Soeharto now require comprehensive rehabilitation.
"The area must be replanted and revitalized," he said.
According to police investigations, the illegal mining site spans roughly 300 hectares. "Our field inspections found that open-pit mining had been conducted across approximately 300 hectares," Irhamni added.
He noted that mining in Bukit Soeharto is strictly prohibited. However, the perpetrators allegedly exploited loopholes by registering mining permits (IUPs) in other locations and then moving the extracted coal from Bukit Soeharto to those sites.
Further investigation revealed document forgery. "They falsified documents to make it appear as though the coal came from a legitimate IUP. When we checked, the IUP and its Joint Work Plan and Budget (RKAB) had never been issued," Irhamni said.
Police have arrested five individuals in connection with the case. "We have named five suspects under four police reports," Irhamni confirmed.
The suspects include M, identified as the funder and coal distributor; CH, who helped obtain documents for the transactions; MR, the buyer and coal collector; and YY and AM, both involved in purchasing the coal.
Two of the suspects are already on trial, while case files for the other three are still under review by the Prosecutor's Office.
Authorities have also seized key evidence, including around 400 containers of mined coal, two heavy excavators, and several documents related to illegal mining transactions.