A total of 46 workers worked at illegal gold mining sites in Indonesia, to be precise in Wasirawi Village, Masni District, Manokwari Regency, West Papua Province.

They were arrested for carrying out illegal gold mining activities in conservation areas and protected forests.

The law enforcement operation against the largest illegal gold mining activity in the area, carried out by the local police, took place from 18 - 22 November 2022.

The Head of the Manokwari Resort Police, Adjunct Senior Commissioner of Police, Parasian Herman Gultom, explained to reporters that of the 46 people arrested in law enforcement operations in the area, 33 people have been officially named suspects.

"From the results of law enforcement on illegal gold mining cases, investigations carried out by detective investigators in a marathon manner, 33 suspects have been identified from the 46 people previously arrested. As for the other 13 workers, their status is only as a witness and has been sent home," said AKBP Parasian Herman Gultom in Manokwari, Tuesday (29/11/2022).

According to Gultom, from the results of the investigation by investigators, the roles of the suspects varied, from the operator to the group leader.

"Their roles vary, from operators to group leaders in illegal gold mining activities," he explained.

Gultom continued, the perpetrators who have been named as suspects are all workers from outside the Manokwari district.

"Where their presence was brought in by investors to be employed in illegal gold mining sites," he said.

Until now, according to Gultom, the police are still hunting for financiers, aka financiers, who fled when the police made arrests in the law enforcement operation.

"We are still after the financiers, they are suspected of capitalizing on the workers in the illegal gold mine," he said.

In this case, according to Gultom, the perpetrators were subject to Article 158 of law number 3 of 2020 concerning Minerba which carries a penalty of 5 years in prison or a fine of one hundred billion rupiah.

"They are subject to article 158 of 2020, concerning Minerba," he concluded.

In law enforcement operations apart from securing dozens of perpetrators, the police also secured a number of pieces of evidence obtained at the illegal gold mining site.

The evidence secured ranges from dozens of excavators to modern gold mining equipment used by workers.

The evidence has been secured at the Manokwari Police Station except for excavators where the Police only brought evidence that could be secured to the Police station while evidence in the form of dozens of excavators were secured at the scene and a police line was installed.

The perpetrators are currently being detained at the Manokwari Police Detention Center for further legal proceedings. The Manokwari Police Department will take firm action against illegal gold miners who are still trying to carry out their activities in the Manokwari area.

The destruction of nature in protected forest areas and nature reserves in the area as a result of the actions of the perpetrators has become a special concern for the Manokwari Police and the West Papua Regional Police.