SURABAYA, LITERASIHUKUM.COM — The Special Crime (Pidsus) Investigation Team of the East Java High Prosecutor's Office conducted a forced search at the office of the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) of East Java Province, located on Jalan Tidar, Surabaya. This pro justitia measure to find evidence has been underway since Thursday (16/4/2026) afternoon with layered security escort from security forces.

Based on observations in the field, the headquarters of the agency in charge of managing regional natural resources is tightly guarded by Military Police (PM) personnel who are on standby from the front yard to the main entrance access. Several uniformed officers from the East Java High Prosecutor's Office's Pidsus also appeared to implement strict supervision and inspection procedures for every employee or individual who wanted to leave or enter the building area during the search process.

This sweeping action by the prosecutor's office is strongly suspected to be part of an escalation of the investigation related to the alleged criminal act of corruption in the mining licensing sector in the East Java region. Juridically, the actions of searching and confiscating by investigators are rigidly regulated in the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) as an instrument to secure physical documents, electronic data, and other crucial evidence to clarify a case construction.

Until the afternoon, the investigation team was reportedly still active inside the building. The East Java High Prosecutor's Office has not released an official statement regarding the details of the case construction, the list of officials examined, or the details of the evidence seized from the location.

Law enforcement in the ESDM sector is always in the public spotlight because mining governance is very vulnerable to maladministration, bribery, and gratification practices in the issuance of permits. If investigators find sufficient preliminary evidence of a malicious conspiracy that results in leakage of Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) or state economic losses, the parties involved could potentially be subject to severe sanctions as regulated in the Law on the Eradication of Corruption Crimes.[1]