Malaysian company owns ketamine-laden tanker seized in Indonesia

Federal narcotics investigators are collaborating with Indonesian authorities to investigate whether a Malaysian drug syndicate masterminded the trafficking of 1.16 tonnes of ketamine aboard a Malaysian tanker intercepted near North Sumatra. The 57-metre vessel, MT Global 168, was seized off Tanjung Balai Asahan on October 20 after Indonesian authorities linked the ship's registration to Makmur Marine Petroleum, a company based in Johor, Malaysia.

A search of the vessel uncovered 58 sacks containing 1,160 wrapped bricks of high-grade ketamine hydrochloride, estimated to be worth 3.48 trillion rupiah, or around RM800 million, on the black market. Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan stated that Malaysian police were formally informed of the seizure by their Indonesian counterparts.

Hussein added that Malaysian police would maintain close contact with Indonesian law enforcement to gather additional details and intelligence to determine if any Malaysian drug syndicate members were involved. Tracking information from Indonesian maritime agencies indicates that the tanker departed from a dock in Pasir Gudang, Johor, before stopping at Port Klang for bunker fuel.

The ship then traveled towards the Andaman Sea, where it changed its Automatic Identification System (AIS) for three days, likely attempting to avoid detection. Suspicious circular patterns were observed near the western coast of Thailand before the tanker turned back towards the Malacca Strait and Sumatran territorial waters. Indonesian security officials detained all eight crew members, seven Indonesian nationals aged between 25 and 71 and a 42-year-old Chinese national, and classified them as formal suspects.