inp.polri.go.id - Palembang. The South Sumatra Regional Police held a press conference regarding the uncovering of a criminal case of illegal fuel oil (BBM) misuse from January to July 2026.
Held at the UPPKB Kertapati (Kramasan Weighing Terminal), Palembang, on Monday (7/27/2026), the South Sumatra Regional Police revealed their success in recovering more than 1.26 million liters of illegal petroleum from the hands of oil and gas mafia.
In the press conference, the South Sumatra Police Chief, Inspector General Sandi Nugroho, emphasized that the security operations aligns with the President's efforts to support National Energy Security, with a dual approach: legal firmness and economic solutions.
"This is a real solution, making what was previously illegal now legal. According to Ministerial Regulation No. 14 of 2025, community wells and old wells are now permitted to be managed by the community through cooperatives, regional-owned enterprises (BUMD), and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The only main requirement is that the wells must be verified by the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas), and the proceeds must be officially distributed to Pertamina," explained Sandi.
However, for those who reject this solution, he assured that authorities will not hesitate to take action. Complementing this firmness, the Director of Special Criminal Investigation of the South Sumatra Regional Police, Senior Superintendent Doni Satrya Sembiring, presented a breakdown of the arrests made by his team and other police officers across South Sumatra.
"In total, we have handled 96 Police Reports (LP). Of these, we have successfully apprehended 129 suspects. The total confiscated evidence of illegal fuel reached 1,261,864 liters," said Doni.
Regarding the means of the crimes, the Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation detailed the confiscated evidence.
"We presented 50 vehicles to the media today. These consist of nine cars, 25 trucks, and 16 ten-wheeled trucks," he added.
Doni also highlighted the environmental damage caused by illegal refineries. There were 11 cases of illegal refineries with 13 suspects and 125,320 liters of oil as evidence. Several raids in Musi Banyuasin resulted in the burning of four vehicles at the refinery sites.
The dozens of confiscated trucks and millions of liters of recovered fuel are not merely statistics, but concrete evidence of the state's presence in severing the arteries of economic crime.
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