inp.polri.go.id - Muba. Police have named one suspect in a fire at a warehouse and illegal oil processing or bleaching facility in Musi Banyuasin (Muba) Regency, South Sumatra.
The suspect, identified as IM (34), is known to be the owner of the land where the oil processing took place.
Muba Sub-regional Police Public Relations Head, Police Senior Inspector Hutahaean, stated that the suspect's determination was made after investigators conducted a series of investigations and a case review.
"From the case review, investigators obtained sufficient evidence to name IM a suspect. The suspect, identified as IM (34), has been detained and is currently undergoing further investigation," he told reporters on Saturday (9/19/2026).
The fire occurred in Babat Village, Babat Toman District, Muba, on Tuesday (9/15/2026). The incident began when a tanker truck was loading refined oil at the location.
During the loading process, an explosion suddenly occurred. The fire then spread and engulfed the warehouse and the oil processing facility.
During the investigation, police secured several pieces of evidence from the scene. These included one storage tank with a capacity of approximately 24,000 liters and one storage tank with a capacity of approximately 5,000 liters.
In addition, police found seven purification tanks or bleaching tanks, each with a capacity of approximately 5,000 liters.
"In addition, there were large and small suction machines, a press machine, a tedmon frame, iron drums, and several hoses," he said.
Police also seized a sack of caustic soda weighing approximately 25 kilograms and a sack of bleaching powder weighing approximately 25 kilograms.
Other evidence included a jerrycan containing a liquid suspected to be sulfuric acid, amounting to approximately 25 liters.
Most of the evidence was found burned. However, the jerrycan containing the liquid suspected to be sulfuric acid was not burned.
In this case, IM is suspected of violating Article 54 of Law No. 22 of 2001 concerning Oil and Natural Gas and/or Article 53 of Law No. 22 of 2001 concerning Oil and Natural Gas.
The police are continuing their investigation to fully uncover the oil processing activities taking place at the location.
Investigators are also still investigating the exact cause of the fire and its impact.
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