Indonesia Seizes Ship Loaded with $116 Million Worth of Drugs

Indonesian authorities announced on Sunday that they had seized 1.3 tons of ketamine, worth more than $100 million, from a ship, marking one of the largest operations of its kind in the country.

Suwido Ariyo Seto, director of the National Narcotics Agency, revealed that authorities received intelligence in February indicating that a ship was sailing from Thailand eastward to Indonesia with a “suspicious” cargo.

Speaking at a press conference on Indonesia’s Batam Island, Suwido said, “The joint team found 65 bags hidden inside the ship. After testing, it was determined that the bags contained ketamine.”

The 1.3-ton cargo was valued at approximately 2.07 trillion rupiah ($116.2 million). Authorities are still searching the ship to determine if it contains additional drugs.

The official news agency, Antara, reported that eight crew members were arrested, seven of them from Myanmar and one from Taiwan.

Last month, Indonesian authorities seized 3.37 metric tons of cannabis buds, thwarting an attempt to smuggle them from Thailand, and arrested 12 suspects.

In 2021, Indonesian police dismantled a network that smuggled 2.5 tons of methamphetamine from Afghanistan, arresting 17 suspects.