Illegal miners in Arutmin concession area arrested

Haji Amin and several other people have been arrested for allegedly involved in illegal mining activities in a mining area in Tanah Laut, South Kalimantan, Banjarmasin Pos reported on Thursday.

The local police chief Akhmad Barmawi said in Banjarmasin on Wednesday that Haji Amin and his colleagues had been declared as suspects in the illegal mining operation and they would be further interrogated before being taking to court.

The suspects were arrested when they were still conducting mining activities in a mining area owned by BHP-Ballitton?s Indonesian subsidiary PT Arutmin. The police also seized all the mining equipment used by the suspects.

Akhmad said that the police should be careful in handling the case it would also affect the local residents living near the concession area. (*)