JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia’s forestry task force is planning a crackdown starting September 1 on mines operating without proper permits in around 4.27 million hectares (10.55 million acres) of protected forests, an official said on Thursday.

The task force already launched a similar operation for illegal palm oil plantations in March.

Febrie Adriansyah, a senior prosecutor at the Attorney’s General Office and a task force official, said the owners of businesses operating illegal mines and plantations will be ordered to return their profits to the state.

(Reporting by Bernadette Christina; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by David Stanway)

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