The practice of hoarding and misusing the distribution of subsidized fuel in Riau Province is suspected to still be occurring on a massive scale. The latest enforcement by the Riau Regional Police (Polda) in Rokan Hilir Regency in mid-July 2026 serves as clear evidence, where officers managed to secure two official tanker trucks at an illegal storage warehouse.
Based on field investigations, these large-scale illegal fuel storage warehouses generally exploit strategic locations along interprovincial routes. Two critical points identified are at Kilometer 51 of the Pekanbaru–Duri Highway and the area of the Simpang Gelombang–Petapahan Highway. In these locations, it is suspected that not only the hoarding of Biosolar and Pertalite takes place, but also the practice of blending fuel to reap unilateral profits.
This condition has a direct impact on the supply chain of official retailers at the grassroots level. Several retail traders in Kandis District admitted difficulty in obtaining Pertalite supplies directly from the nearest gas stations due to the dominance of middlemen (pelansir). Consequently, to keep their businesses running, retailers are forced to purchase fuel supplies from the illegal warehouse network at much higher prices.
This network even offers blended fuel in several quality grades. For a 35-liter jerry can of Pertalite, prices range from IDR 320,000 for the lowest quality to IDR 340,000 for the mid-grade. Meanwhile, illegal Biosolar is marketed in the range of IDR 360,000 to IDR 370,000 per jerry can. Retailers generally avoid the lowest quality to prevent damage to their customers' vehicle engines.
The involvement of official transport fleets further strengthens suspicions of systematic leakage from upstream. Citizen reports, accompanied by video recordings, show official transporter tanker trucks entering and leaving the hoarding warehouse area on the Simpang Gelombang route. Regarding indications of fleet deviations, PT Elnusa Petrofin, through its Corporate Communication, Relation & CSR Manager, Putiarsa Bagus Wibowo, has not yet provided an official response.
Legal efforts to fully dismantle this fuel mafia network are now in the hands of the police. However, the Director of Special Criminal Investigation of the Riau Regional Police, Police Commissioner Ade Kuncoro, has not yet provided further details regarding the direction of the investigation or the summoning of the transport corporations allegedly involved in this case.
