Indonesian law enforcement agencies seized multimillion-dollar shipments of illicit drugs on the island of Sumatra in operations carried out within days of each other.
National police chief Suyudi Ario Seto announced the details of the raids on Friday during a press briefing in the city of Medan. Security forces intercepted a ship carrying 1.1 tons of ketamine in the waters off Sumatra on Tuesday.
Intelligence officials began monitoring the MT Global 168 tanker in August after receiving reports of suspicious activity. The vessel had sailed from Thailand through the Andaman Sea.
The ship flew the Mongolian flag and belonged to a company based in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Police and customs officers intercepted the vessel in the Strait of Malacca as it headed toward Port Klang in Malaysia, then escorted the tanker to Belawan Port in North Sumatra for a full inspection. A joint team searched the vessel and recovered the narcotics.
“From this search operation, the joint team managed to seize illicit drugs in the form of ketamine HCL (hydrochloride). The evidence was found in 58 sacks with a total weight reaching 1.16 tons,” Suyudi told reporters.
Officers arrested eight crew members during the maritime operation, consisting of seven Indonesian nationals and one person from Taiwan. Police valued the ketamine shipment at 3.48 trillion rupiah, which equates to roughly $192 million. The interception occurred just over two months after authorities seized 1.3 tons of ketamine from Thailand hidden inside 65 sacks near the Riau islands.
Security forces uncovered a clandestine liquid meth lab in Pidie Regency, Aceh province, on Wednesday. Investigators raided the facility and confiscated 1.2 tons of methamphetamine with an estimated value of 2.16 trillion rupiah.
Authorities arrested 11 individuals across multiple locations during the Aceh operation, including nine Indonesian nationals and two Chinese citizens.
