Indonesia makes 2.6-tonne liquid meth seizure from Tanzanian ship in Riau

Indonesia has seized 2.6 tonnes of liquid methamphetamine from a Tanzanian-flagged vessel, in what authorities claim is one of their largest drug busts to date. The National Narcotics Agency intercepted the MV Rain Maker near Bengkalis in Riau province on Monday, after receiving intelligence that the ship might be carrying narcotics to Indonesia.

Upon inspection, officials found the illicit substance stored in eight water barrels and a water tank, along with over 1.5 million illegal cigarettes. Ten crew members, all Myanmar nationals, were arrested during the operation. This latest bust follows another seizure of 1.3 tonnes of ketamine from a ship in the Riau Islands on August 8, with eight crew members arrested, including seven from Myanmar and one from Taiwan.

Despite maintaining some of the world's toughest anti-drug laws, including the death penalty for traffickers, Indonesia has maintained a moratorium on executions for several years.

Brief written by urgent.news from Malay Mail's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.