Indonesian Police Name 72 Suspects in Forest Fire Cases Across Nine Regions

August 24, 2026 | 06:07 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian National Police (Polri) have named 72 suspects in forest and land fire cases across nine regions since February 2026. One case was dropped via an Investigation Termination Order (SP3), leaving 71 suspects whose legal proceedings are continuing.

Brigadier General Mohamad Irhamni, Director of Specific Crimes at the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim), stated that the police are handling 89 reports regarding alleged criminal acts involving forest and land fires. "We have issued approximately 89 police reports distributed across nine Regional Police jurisdictions," Irhamni said during a press conference at the National Police Headquarters in South Jakarta on Sunday, August 23, 2026.

The nine regions include Riau, West Kalimantan, South Sumatra, Jambi, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Aceh, and North Kalimantan.

Bareskrim recorded 1,201 hotspots in Riau and 2,282 in West Kalimantan. Meanwhile, South Sumatra had 618 hotspots, Jambi 64, Central Kalimantan 203, South Kalimantan 318, East Kalimantan 243, Aceh 71, and North Kalimantan 12.

Police handled the cases after verifying hotspots and discovering fires suspected of involving criminal elements. Officers first extinguished and cooled the sites before conducting a crime scene investigation.

From these cases, investigators seized various items suspected to be linked to land burning. The evidence includes 35 lighters; containers holding diesel, Pertalite, and kerosene; 21 machetes; two axes; one hoe; 39 pieces of burnt wood; soil samples; two chainsaws; and six oil palm seedlings.

According to Irhamni, the evidence and preliminary examination results point to suspected burning for land clearing purposes. Some of the perpetrators had cut down vegetation three to four months prior to setting the fires. Police suspect they chose this method to cut land-clearing costs compared to using heavy machinery. "Burning is the easiest way," said Irhamni.

Most of the suspects are farmers or casual laborers who cleared land for cultivation or to plant oil palms. However, the Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) is still investigating whether they acted alone or received orders and funding from other parties.

Investigators will trace the suspects' financial transactions and coordinate with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK). This tracing aims to uncover potential involvement by financiers or corporations in the land burning.

"We do not rely on their statements alone; we will seek facts, transaction records, and other evidence to determine if there is involvement by other parties or corporations that ordered the land clearing," said Irhamni.

Irhamni stated that investigators have not yet found evidence of involvement by law enforcement officers or government officials. Police have also not disclosed the value of the financial transactions currently under scrutiny.

Bareskrim, Irhamni noted, will not limit its investigation to the individuals who carried out the burning on the ground. Police intend to identify the parties who ordered, funded, or profited from the forest and land fires.

"We will not stop at the field-level actors; we will thoroughly pursue the matter to uncover the purpose of the burning and who stood to benefit from it," said Irhamni.

Police have charged the suspects under provisions of the Forestry Law, the Plantation Law, the Law on Environmental Protection and Management, and the Criminal Code.

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