Police destroy over 47,000 cannabis plants on Mount Semeru
East Java police and forest rangers found a hidden cannabis plantation on the slopes of Mount Semeru in September 2024 and destroyed more than 47,000 plants by the end of October, seizing 10 kg of dried cannabis and arresting at least four local villagers.
🇮🇩 Mount Semeru slopes near Argosari, Lumajang, East Java · Indonesia
Police and forest rangers using FPV drones found a cannabis plantation hidden
in thick vegetation on the steep slopes of Mount Semeru, inside Bromo Tengger
Semeru National Park, in September 2024.[1]The site near Argosari village
in Lumajang Regency held more than 38,000 plants across 49 fields covering
about 1.5 hectares, some plants up to two metres tall.[2]
Between September and October 2024 the police destroyed more than 47,000
marijuana plants on the mountain’s slopes, and seized10 kg of dried
marijuana.[1]A photograph shows officers and rangers uprooting plants on
the slope on 31 October 2024.[1]
At least four suspects, all villagers from Argosari, were arrested; the
arrested farmers said a man known as Edy had hired them to tend the crop, and
he remained at large.[1][2]Under Indonesian law cannabis is a type-1 drug in
the same class as heroin and methamphetamine, and cultivation carries long
prison terms.[2]
Photos and video
Policemen and forest rangers uproot marijuana plants on the slope of Mount Semeru in Lumajang Regency on 31 October 2024Photo details
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
4
Plants destroyed
47,000
Area
1.5 ha
Cannabis
10 kg
Agency type
Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (10 kg); Living plants (47,000 plants)
Activity
Cultivation
Setting
Field, Forest or wild land, Prison
Grown
Outdoor
Case stage
Under investigation
Sources
Jakarta Globejakartaglobe.idArchived copyGovernment Refutes Claims of Marijuana Plantation Cover-Up in East Java National Park. September 2024 discovery; 47,000 plants destroyed September-October 2024; 10 kg seized; four arrested; 31 October 2024 photo
Batam News Asiabatamnewsasia.comArchived copyDrone Uncovers Massive Marijuana Plantation in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. 38,000 plants across 49 fields on 1.5 hectares; four Argosari villagers arrested; mastermind at large
Open questions the AI reported
No court outcomes for the four arrested villagers were reported.
The alleged mastermind, known as Edy, was still at large with the police search continuing.
Indonesia's narcotics agency destroyed more than four tons of ready-to-harvest cannabis on 2.5 hectares in the mountains of Desa Pulo Lamteba, Aceh Besar. Officers uprooted and burned the plants on site after a week-long investigation; no owner was found.
Officers in Aceh uprooted thousands of cannabis plants to their roots and burned them on site to cut off the production source. The account gives no precise location, exact plant count, field area or suspects.
A joint Bareskrim, BNN and Lhokseumawe police team destroyed about 18 hectares of harvest-ready cannabis at Alue Garut, Teupin Ruseb, Sawang on 2 November 2026 by burning the plants. Three suspected field owners aged 32 to 42, identified only by initials, were arrested.
A joint Polri-BNN operation destroyed 122.86 hectares of cannabis fields across North Sumatra and Aceh between 27 October and 2 November 2026. Four people were detained in North Aceh, with three named as suspects facing up to 20 years' imprisonment.
Arrested 4Charged 3Plants destroyed 150,000Area 122.9 ha
