Indonesia foils major drug smuggling attempt at sea and detains 10 Myanmar crew members

Indonesian authorities have successfully intercepted a ship carrying a significant amount of liquid methamphetamine and detained ten crew members of Myanmar origin, in what officials described as one of the country's largest drug busts. The operation, carried out on Monday, involved a joint task force consisting of the National Narcotics Agency, customs officials, and Riau Islands police.

The seizure of approximately 2.6 tons of the drug was made off the coast of Sumatra after authorities received intelligence about a vessel allegedly transporting narcotics from Malaysia's Sarawak state towards Indonesian waters, according to Roy Hardi Siahaan, the director of enforcement at the National Narcotics Agency. The ship, identified as the Tanzania-flagged MV Ocean Porter, was intercepted in waters off Tanjung Parit in Bengkalis regency, Riau province, and towed to a customs operations base on Batam island, near Singapore, for inspection.

Investigators believe the vessel had previously operated as the MV Rain Maker, a fact which they pointed out was used to avoid detection. The drug was found hidden in eight drums and the vessel's water tanks, marking it as one of the largest drug busts in Indonesia this year. The detained crew members, all Myanmar nationals, were paraded at a Batam port news conference, and authorities emphasized that they were under intensive investigation to identify and dismantle the international trafficking network behind the shipment.

This seizure follows closely on the heels of another major narcotics bust, in which a different vessel, the MV King Sun, was intercepted off Bintan island and found to be carrying 1.3 tons of ketamine. Ten crew members were detained in that operation as well, with seven of them being Myanmar nationals and one a Taiwanese citizen.

This operation followed a three-month multinational intelligence investigation that involved Thai authorities.