Tangerang, Banten, June 30 -- Indonesian police have seized 18.1 metric tons of illegal sodium cyanide and arrested two suspects for allegedly supplying the hazardous chemical to illegal gold mining operations across the country, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Brigadier General Ade Safri Simanjuntak, director of economic and special crimes at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department, stated that the chemical is suspected to have been illegally imported from China.

Investigators launched the crackdown after receiving intelligence regarding the distribution of unauthorized cyanide outside government oversight.

Raids were conducted at three storage and distribution sites across Bekasi and West Jakarta, yielding a total ...