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llegal gold miners hailing from many different areas have surreptitiously returned to Lore Lindu National Park in Dongi-Dongi village, Poso regency, Central Sulawesi.

The illegal miners came in groups at night and dug open pits in the protected area, the head of Lore Lindu National Park, Sudayatna, said.

“There are still miners sneaking into the national park to search for gold ore,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Security guards and police were stationed at the entrance gate of the national park, but as the miners crept in at night, it had been hard to catch them, he added. The miners allegedly used illegal routes through local plantations to get in and out of the park.

Local authorities have been curbing illegal mining in Lore Lindu National Park since 2016 over concerns that the activities might have a negative environmental impact.

Based on field observations by the Post, there are freshly dug holes 5 to 10 meters deep, covered with logs taken from the forest.

Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi said the police had filled in the holes and had also been involved in a tree-planting program on the former mining sites.