Indonesia seizes two tons of methamphetamine in its biggest ever bust
JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities seized about two tons of methamphetamine off Sumatra island in the biggest seizure of drugs in the country's history, its narcotics agency said on Monday (May 26).
The agency linked the drugs to a syndicate in the Golden Triangle - an area where northeastern Myanmar meets parts of Thailand and Laos, which has a long history of producing drugs for distribution as far as Japan and New Zealand.
Marthinus Hukom, chief of Indonesia's narcotics agency, told reporters that after five months of surveillance authorities last week sent ships to stop a vessel called "Sea Dragon Tarawa" and discovered the methamphetamine in boxes.
Hukom said the drugs were thought to have come from a syndicate in the Golden Triangle and were destined for Indonesia as well as other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines.
Four Indonesians and two Thai nationals were apprehended on the ship, he said.
"This seizure is the biggest drug discovery in the history of drug eradication in Indonesia," he said.
The latest seizure comes after Indonesia's navy seized a ship carrying nearly two tons of methamphetamine and cocaine worth US$425 million around the same area in the west of the archipelago earlier this month. One Thai national and four Myanmar nationals were also detained.
A record 190 tons of methamphetamine was seized in East and Southeast Asia in 2023 as organised crime groups exploited weak law enforcement to traffic drugs, mainly via the Gulf of Thailand, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said in a 2024 report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
6 hours ago
- CNA
'He marked my daughter for life': Father of Ian Fang's victim speaks out
SINGAPORE: The family of a teenage girl who fell victim to Ian Fang's sexual offences has expressed dissatisfaction with the former actor's sentence of a 40-month prison term, which does not include caning. 'Mark him for life. He marked my daughter for life,' said the girl's father. 'Let the guy learn. Like that, every time he takes off his clothes, people can see … he did something bad in the past.' Fang, 35, was sentenced in May after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor. The victim was 15 years old during their sexual encounters in 2024. Her identity is still protected by a court order that also covers her family members. The girl's father said Fang had manipulated his daughter into a sexual relationship. Fang used his fame and age 'to show that he can take care of her … give her a sense of security where probably boys of her age couldn't'. 'He (knew) that at that age you are still quite naive, immature. Your thoughts are all over the place, you don't know how to really make decisions.' He 'abused his power' as a teacher and took advantage of the girl, who was infatuated with him because he was a celebrity, the father added. At the time of the offences, Fang was an acting teacher with a child modelling school. Fang was prosecuted under Section 376A(2)(b) of the Penal Code, which does not include caning as a punishment. The section deals with sexual offences against minors aged 14 to 16 which do not have the element of an exploitative relationship. Lawyers have said the assessment on this is a matter of prosecutorial discretion taking into consideration all the available facts and evidence, which may not be publicly known. Fang was a full-time actor with Mediacorp for 12 years until he left the company in 2023. The sexual encounters took place in Fang's home; a hotel where the victim was quarantining with COVID-19; and a hospital where she was nursing the flu. On nearly all of the nine occasions from June to July 2024, they did not use protection. The victim contracted a sexually transmitted infection. Her father added that the family wanted Fang's identity to be exposed 'from the start'. They were 'disgusted' to see from Fang's social media that he was still playing football, working and talking to other people 'like nothing happened', said the father. When Fang was charged in January, the judge initially did not allow him to be named to protect the identity of the victim, who could be linked to him. The gag order was eventually lifted at the prosecution's request. The girl said in her victim impact statement that she was "emotionally stronger" and willing to bear the risk of being identified. 'GIVE HIM AN OSCAR' Fang was not a stranger to the victim's family. He struck up a friendship with the girl's parents after meeting her and her mother at an event. The girl's parents saw Fang as a friend and treated him to dinners. 'We had drinks with him and everything. (He) called me 'bro' and this and that. And then behind my back, he's (having sex with) my daughter,' said the father. Fang also tried to curry favour by introducing them to other celebrities, he said. There was no suspicion of any inappropriate relationship because Fang and the girl kept up a pretence and behaved normally around her parents. 'He would meet us and act like nothing has happened. And he will ask my daughter to play along,' the father said. 'We didn't know at all. He played his acting role so well. Speechless, speechless. Really give him an Oscar for that.' Fang's sexual encounters with the girl came to light only after she sought treatment for a sexually transmitted infection. Even then, she was reluctant to tell her parents the truth. 'What my wife had to do was basically tell her: 'Okay, you need to tell us who did this to you, because if you don't tell us, I'm not going to pay for your medical fees'. 'And when she (saw) her health, her situation was that bad – that's how we actually managed to squeeze it out from her, all this information.' The girl was also stressed and scared because Fang used the prospect of killing himself or going to jail to threaten her to keep their relationship a secret, said the father. After a police report was made in August 2024, Fang persisted in reaching out to the victim even though investigators instructed him not to contact her. The girl's father recalled a period of a few months when she would be harassed by phone calls from Fang late at night. 'Every single day, by the time it hits around midnight to 2am, that was a crucial timing, I would say. The phone never stops,' he said. When the victim blocked one phone number, Fang would call again from another number. 'And whenever she (picked) up the phone call, he wouldn't speak. He would just play songs, like those love songs and those Chinese love songs. 'And then once in a while, he will blurt out some of the words. And even sometimes, his acting (is) so good, you will hear him cry-cry on the phone.' "MAKE THIS GUY LEARN HIS LESSON" The father also revealed that the family intends to sue the former actor. Mr Richard Siaw, their lawyer, told CNA he has been instructed to commence civil proceedings against Fang for harms inflicted on the victim, to get redress over and above the sentence for criminal offences. These harms include the girl's infection as well as the emotional and psychological suffering as detailed in court documents. She experienced suicidal thoughts after Fang reached out to her while he was under investigation. In phone calls, Fang said he would kill himself if he went to jail. He told the girl to cry in front of her mother and ask not to press charges against him. The girl was warded at the Institute of Mental Health for almost a week in August 2024, and eventually diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depressed mood. In her victim impact statement, she described feeling very dependent on Fang. She believed the only way to keep him close to her was through sex. The offences had an impact on her gender expression. She also said she had become fearful of middle-aged men, did not want men near her, and had lost trust in relationships. Lawyers explained to CNA that it is possible for the family to start a civil claim because criminal and civil proceedings are independent of each other. In criminal proceedings, the state exercises its powers against an offender to seek punishment. In civil proceedings, the victim seeks a personal remedy. This usually takes the form of monetary compensation, which is used as a proxy for the harm suffered. For example, an offender can be ordered to compensate for pain and suffering, and medical fees incurred. The family's lawyers are in the process of reviewing the facts and putting the case together. When contacted, the lawyer who represented Fang in his criminal case had no comment on the matter. The victim's father stressed they were not suing Fang for the money. 'I will never touch a single cent from him. Everything will be donated to a charity. "But I want to make this guy learn his lesson, and why we sue him is because there is no rotan,' he said, referring to the Malay term for cane. '100 PER CENT TRUST' BROKEN The family has become closer through this ordeal, said the father, though he and his wife must reckon with their daughter breaking the trust they placed in her. Before, the girl had never given them reason to worry, and was a good student. So as parents, they took her at her word, he said. But the secrecy of her relationship with Fang meant she would lie to them about her whereabouts, making it difficult for them to find out what was happening. 'If she tells us she's going to school or she's going for her lessons, we'll just (say) 'okay, sure'. We never go and CSI really what's going on," the father told CNA. 'We always gave our full 100 per cent trust to her. So we didn't know that that's how she went out with him and stuff like that. We didn't know at all.' The parents have become more vigilant about their daughter's activities, and now keep track of her whereabouts using the Find My app on her iPhone. She feels regret about her actions under Fang's manipulation, said her father. 'She's getting better, definitely, but it takes time … now we just spend more time with her, focus on her studies, focus on what she enjoys doing." 'However she's feeling, we can't really know what is going (on) you know," he said. "But as a parent ... we are trying our best to make her happy again.'
CNA
13 hours ago
- CNA
S$5,000 reward offered for information on alleged Nee Soon serial cat killer
Some animal lovers in Singapore believe a serial cat killer may be on the loose. A cat has been found dead with its hind legs in an odd position in Nee Soon, suggesting an unnatural death. It was discovered just a block away from where a dead community cat was found with its guts hanging out last month. The community has hired a private investigator and put up a $$5,000 bounty to find the perpetrator. The Cat Welfare Society is planning to do more door-to-door visits in the area in hope that a witness will come forward. Eugene Chow reports.
.jpg%3Fitok%3Dfp7YEetY&w=3840&q=100)
CNA
16 hours ago
- CNA
NParks investigating after cat found dead with legs splayed in Yishun
SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board (NParks) is investigating after a cat was found dead in Yishun with its legs positioned in an unusual, splayed manner. "NParks received feedback on a cat found dead at the foot of a staircase at Yishun Street 51 and is looking into the matter," it said on Monday (Jun 2) in response to CNA queries. "We urge the public not to speculate on the details of the case and allow investigations to run its proper course." The incident first came to light on Sunday via a post in Facebook group Sayang Our Singapore's Community Cats, which included photos of a dead cat found at what appears to be a Housing and Development Board (HDB) staircase landing. According to the poster, the cat was found at Block 510A in Yishun. A screenshot of a text message stated that a 24-hour hotline was called, but no assistance was provided. CNA understands the 24-hour hotline was that of a private vet clinic. According to the post, this incident took place near the block where another cat was found dead in Yishun with severe injuries. RECENT INCIDENTS This is the latest in a spate of incidents in which cats in Yishun and Punggol were found dead with injuries. In a Facebook post last month, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam drew attention to another similar incident that took place in Yishun Street 51, saying: "A community cat in Yishun had been tortured, eyes gouged out, body cut up and organs split. "What kind of person will do this? This is not who we are as a people." Facebook page Sayang Our Singapore's Community Cats said the cat had been found "brutally tortured and left on the road in a failed attempt to disguise this crime as an accident". In a separate incident, another cat was found injured at the loading and unloading bay near Block 326B, Sumang Walk in Punggol. NParks said investigations showed its injuries were likely result of a traffic accident, as opposed to a deliberate act of animal cruelty. In 2024, the number of cases involving animal cruelty and welfare in Singapore rose to a 12-year high of 961, according to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
