Jakarta. Indonesian police have identified two groups suspected of running an illegal gold export network, with one allegedly sending gold to Dubai and the other to Hong Kong, an investigator said on Friday.

“There are essentially two groups operating in Indonesia,” Brig. Gen. Irhamni, director of the national police’s special crimes unit, told reporters.

Police are investigating suspects still in Indonesia and seeking to prevent them from leaving the country while tracing their assets, Irhamni said.

Those who have fled overseas will be pursued through cooperation with the Indonesian police’s international relations division and Interpol, he said.

The investigation follows a police raid on a shophouse in Sunter Agung, North Jakarta, on Aug. 17 as part of a probe into illegal gold smuggling.

Investigators searched two apartments linked to the suspected network and found about 2.5 kg of gold at one location, including two bars weighing about 1 kg each and gold rings weighing about 0.5 kg.

At another location, police found what they believed was a facility used to process gold before it was smuggled abroad, as well as 18 pieces of white metal weighing about 18 kg that investigators said were residue from the process.

Police suspect the shophouse was used to melt gold bars and convert the metal into powder or gel before it was smuggled overseas, allegedly to Dubai.

The raid followed an earlier investigation involving two Indian nationals suspected of involvement in illegal gold smuggling.

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