Indonesia makes two major drug busts worth millions of dollars

The Indonesian National Police have announced the arrest of eight crew members, seven Indonesian and one Taiwanese, following the seizure of illicit drugs worth millions of dollars on the island of Sumatra. Police Chief General Suyudi Ario Seto revealed that a ship carrying 1.16 tonnes of ketamine was intercepted in the waters off Sumatra on Tuesday.

The vessel, flying the Mongolian flag but owned by a company in Malaysia, was apprehended in the Strait of Malacca and brought to Belawan Port for inspection. The drugs seized, in the form of ketamine HCL, were found in 58 sacks with a total weight of 1.16 tonnes. The estimated value of the contraband was Rp3.48 trillion (approximately US$192 million).

Just over two months earlier, Indonesian authorities intercepted a ship carrying 1.3 tonnes of ketamine near the Riau islands. On Wednesday, a clandestine meth lab in Aceh province was raided, resulting in the seizure of 1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine. Nine Indonesian nationals and two Chinese nationals were arrested during the operations, with the drugs estimated to be worth Rp2.16 trillion ($132 million).

Indonesia maintains some of the world's toughest anti-drug laws, though it has maintained a moratorium on executions for several years.