Civil society groups are urging ASEAN, Indonesia, and the Philippines to treat the April 2026 seizure of 760 bottles of mercury at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port as evidence of a wider cross-border network supplying illegal gold mining operations, including in Mindanao.
Publish What You Pay Indonesia, Bantay Kita, and Resource Justice Network Asia Pacific said the seizure exposed an alleged supply chain running from West Seram, Maluku, through Ambon and Tanjung Priok, and toward illegal gold fields in Davao, Mindanao. The groups said investigators believe the route has operated since at least 2021.
The mercury was reportedly concealed in carpet rolls at Indonesia’s largest port. The groups said the shipment was not merely a customs violation, but part of a wider network that helps sustain illegal artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
Mercury is commonly used in illegal gold mining because it binds with gold particles, allowing miners to extract gold from ore without sophisticated equipment. However, the process can contaminate waterways, ecosystems, and nearby communities.
The groups said illegal gold mining at the scale seen in Mindanao would be difficult to sustain without a steady illicit supply of mercury.
“This seizure exposes a Green Financial Crime network, not merely an environmental violation,” said Aryanto Nugroho, National Coordinator of PWYP Indonesia.
“The manipulation of customs documents to smuggle mercury is trade-based money laundering in practice. Both governments must pursue this through an anti-illicit financial flows lens, demanding beneficial ownership disclosure across the mercury supply chain and monitoring of illicit gold transactions,” he added.
The release cited Indonesia’s financial intelligence unit PPATK, which estimated illicit financial flows linked to illegal artisanal gold mining between 2023 and 2025 at IDR 992 trillion, or more than a quarter of Indonesia’s 2026 national budget.
The groups said community impacts are already visible in both countries. In Indonesia, mercury contamination at Gunung Botak on Buru Island has reportedly polluted the Patipulu River at levels up to 16 times above safe thresholds.
In the Philippines, the groups said illegal artisanal and small-scale gold mining cases across Mindanao have grown substantially since 2021, reaching unprecedented levels in 2025 and 2026 alongside historically high gold prices. They said illegal mining has penetrated environmentally sensitive areas, including Mt. Apo Natural Park, and contributed to deforestation and mercury contamination of the Iponan River.
The groups also framed the case as a test for ASEAN’s Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, which was adopted in October 2025. The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights is currently developing a regional action plan under the Philippines’ ASEAN chairmanship.
“ADER must not become another regional promise without enforcement. The Seram-to-Davao mercury corridor is a concrete test of whether ASEAN can treat illicit mineral supply chains as what they are: cross-border environmental rights abuses that poison communities and enrich criminal networks,” said Angela Asuncion of Resource Justice Network Asia Pacific.
The groups called on ASEAN and the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights to establish a binding regional framework for tracing mercury and illicit gold across borders and to integrate the case into the ADER regional action plan.
They also urged Indonesia and the Philippines to establish financial intelligence cooperation between PPATK and the Anti-Money Laundering Council, mandate beneficial ownership transparency across the mercury supply chain, and ensure the participation of affected communities in Maluku and Mindanao in any investigation or policy process.
The groups said the case should be treated as a regional enforcement test involving illegal mining, financial crime, environmental protection, and community rights.
How can ASEAN strengthen cross-border enforcement against illicit mercury flows and illegal gold mining?
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