Indonesian authorities have seized 1.16 tonnes of ketamine from a Mongolian-flagged vessel that arrived from Malaysia, in one of the country’s larger narcotics interceptions this year.
Police and customs officers stopped the ship in waters off North Sumatra province earlier in the week, Hiru News reported, citing Reuters. Al Jazeera put the value of the haul at about US$192 million.
Indonesian National Police Chief Suyudi Ario Seto said the consignment amounted to 1,160kg packed into 58 sacks, with a street value of about 3.48 trillion Indonesian rupiah, or roughly US$192.64 million.
Seven Indonesian nationals and one Taiwanese national were arrested, Seto said. Al Jazeera’s account refers to eight crew members detained, consistent with that breakdown.
The quantities reported are internally consistent across both filings: 1.16 tonnes is 1,160kg, distributed across 58 sacks at an average of about 20kg each.
Ketamine, an anaesthetic diverted for recreational use, carries severe penalties under Indonesian law. The country enforces some of the harshest narcotics statutes in Asia, including the death penalty for large-scale trafficking, and has repeatedly intercepted maritime consignments moving through the Malacca Strait corridor.
Not confirmed by the sources cited here. Wire copy on the same police announcement, carried by a number of outlets that syndicate Reuters, additionally described a methamphetamine seizure alongside the ketamine, which would make the combined haul substantially larger. Neither Al Jazeera’s filing nor Hiru’s mentions that element, and this desk was unable to verify it against a citable source. It is noted here rather than reported as fact.
Sources: Indonesia seizes more than a tonne of ketamine — Al Jazeera, October 23, Tons of drugs seized in Indonesia, international trafficking ring exposed — Hiru News, October 23 (Sinhala).
