Indonesia seizes ship carrying methamphetamine, cocaine worth $426m
Indonesia's navy seized a ship carrying nearly two tonnes of methamphetamine and cocaine worth almost $426m (R7.69bn) off Sumatra this week and arrested a Thai national and four Myanmar nationals aboard the vessel, the navy said on Friday.
Officers apprehended the ship after it turned off its lights and increased its speed to try to flee Indonesian waters in the Tanjung Balai Karimun region of Riau Islands province, the navy said.
Officers seized nearly 100 yellow and white sacks holding about 1.2 tonnes of cocaine and 705kg of methamphetamine worth$425.92m, a navy spokesperson said.
Indonesia has among the world's strictest anti-narcotics laws and drug trafficking is punishable by death.
The navy said the ship, bearing a Thai flag, was taken to a navy base in Tanjung Balai Karimun. It did not give details of the crew members' origins apart from their nationalities.
Officials are still investigating where the drugs came from and where the ship was headed, navy official Fauzi, who goes by one name, said in a press conference.
The seizure is among the largest busts in the country.
A record 190 tonnes of methamphetamine were seized in East and Southeast Asia in 2023 as organised crime groups exploited weak law enforcement to traffic the drugs, mainly via the Gulf of Thailand, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said in a 2024 report.
The Golden Triangle — an area of northeast Myanmar that meets parts of Thailand and Laos — has a long history of producing drugs, mainly used by Asian crime syndicates which distribute the narcotics as far as Japan and New Zealand.
In 2022, 179kg of cocaine were found in waters near the port of Merak on Java island, at the time the largest cocaine seizure in the country, the UN drug agency said in a 2023 global report on cocaine.
Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald
6 hours ago
- The Herald
Bricks of cocaine worth R18m and guns seized in Cape Town CBD
Fifteen bricks of cocaine worth an estimated R18m have been seized with several firearms from a storage facility in the Cape Town CBD. The police raid on a self-storage facility in Roeland Street on Tuesday also led to the arrest of a 40-year-old man for allegedly dealing in drugs and the unlawful possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. 'Armed with intelligence about drugs and firearms being stored at the address, the officers operationalised the information and pounced on the self-storage facility where they found the suspect at one of the units,' said spokesperson Capt Frederick van Wyk. ' They conducted a search of the unit upon which they discovered 15 bricks of cocaine of about 15kg [1kg each] with an estimated street value of R18m as well as one AK-47 rifle, an Uzi, five 9mm pistols and an assortment of ammunition.' The suspect is expected to appear in the Cape Town magistrate's court soon. The bust was the culmination of an intelligence-led operation by members of the police anti-gang unit, crime intelligence and provincial organised crime detectives. Western Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Thembisile Patekile said the drugs and firearms could have caused havoc in the wrong hands in communities where gang and gun violence are prevalent. TimesLIVE
Daily Maverick
20 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
DA calls for immediate release of Navy report into 2023 Kommetjie submarine disaster
The DA's Chris Hattingh has called for the immediate declassification and public release of the SA Navy's investigation into the disaster in 2023 that claimed the lives of three submariners. Chris Hattingh, the Democratic Alliance's (DA's) defence spokesperson, has called on the SA National Defence Force and Defence Minister Angie Motshekga to immediately release an internal report into the disaster near Kommetjie in the Western Cape in which three submariners died. One of them was Lieutenant Commander Gillian Malouw-Hector (33), who grew up in Schauderville, Nelson Mandela Bay, and trained with the Sea Cadets in Humewood. She was the commanding officer of the SAS 'Manthatisi, which was conducting a naval exercise near Kommetjie in September 2023 when large waves swept the crew overboard. Five were saved, but three — Malouw-Hector, Master Warrant Officer William Mathipa (48) and Warrant Officer Class 1 Mmokwapa Mojela (43) — died. The submariners were conducting a vertical transfer using an SA Air Force Maritime Lynx helicopter when they were swept overboard. On Tuesday, Hattingh said he did not understand the reasons for keeping the report, which was finalised in 2023, secret. 'The purpose of sailing the ship was to go to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront for a Heritage Day open day,' he said. 'It was not a military operation. They only conducted a training exercise en route.' The findings of a board of inquiry into the incident were made public. The inquiry concluded that the submariners died in an accident caused by freak waves and that they had followed all protocols. It also found that they had performed a similar exercise in worse weather conditions. Malouw-Hector was the first female submarine navigator in Africa. At the time, the Navy said her death 'is a huge loss for the South African Navy, the entire Department of Defence and the country as a whole. [She] was the first female to qualify in her position in the submarine, [and] she was also on the verge of becoming the first female commanding officer… It took years of training for her to get here.' But now her family, friends and community might never know what happened on that fateful day. Censored Hattingh said the Navy's report had been 'censored by Defence Intelligence' and was being 'withheld from the victims' families, their legal representatives, and even the Hawks. 'This obstruction of justice by the Navy and the Department of Defence must end,' he said. 'Despite clear weather warnings, the exercise proceeded, ignoring critical safety protocols. Evidence now shows that serious failures in planning and operational oversight directly contributed to the fatal outcome.' The Navy has not responded yet to Daily Maverick's request for comment, but its written response to Hattingh indicates that a myriad of further 'processes must be followed' to get the report released, and its release can be refused at any stage. The Navy told Hattingh, 'The Department of Defence would like to inform you that the requested records have been scrutinised/declassified and masked by the Defence Intelligence Division. However, the following Departmental process has to be followed before the requested records can be released or refused. 'The records have been referred to the Defence Legal Services Division (DLSD) for a legal recommendation. Thereafter, the records will be referred to the Chief of the South African National Defence Force for a recommendation with regards to the release or refusal of the requested records. 'Then the records will be submitted to the office of the Secretary for Defence for a final decision to release or refuse.' Hattingh said all his attempts to obtain the full report had been met with 'bureaucratic resistance and legal evasion. Even a direct appeal to Minister Angie Motshekga has failed to secure its release.' He has called on Parliament to establish an inquiry into the SANDF's 'ongoing practice of withholding vital information and failing to safeguard its own personnel'. DM
The Herald
16-05-2025
- The Herald
Indonesia seizes ship carrying methamphetamine, cocaine worth $426m
Indonesia's navy seized a ship carrying nearly two tonnes of methamphetamine and cocaine worth almost $426m (R7.69bn) off Sumatra this week and arrested a Thai national and four Myanmar nationals aboard the vessel, the navy said on Friday. Officers apprehended the ship after it turned off its lights and increased its speed to try to flee Indonesian waters in the Tanjung Balai Karimun region of Riau Islands province, the navy said. Officers seized nearly 100 yellow and white sacks holding about 1.2 tonnes of cocaine and 705kg of methamphetamine worth$425.92m, a navy spokesperson said. Indonesia has among the world's strictest anti-narcotics laws and drug trafficking is punishable by death. The navy said the ship, bearing a Thai flag, was taken to a navy base in Tanjung Balai Karimun. It did not give details of the crew members' origins apart from their nationalities. Officials are still investigating where the drugs came from and where the ship was headed, navy official Fauzi, who goes by one name, said in a press conference. The seizure is among the largest busts in the country. A record 190 tonnes of methamphetamine were seized in East and Southeast Asia in 2023 as organised crime groups exploited weak law enforcement to traffic the drugs, mainly via the Gulf of Thailand, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said in a 2024 report. The Golden Triangle — an area of northeast Myanmar that meets parts of Thailand and Laos — has a long history of producing drugs, mainly used by Asian crime syndicates which distribute the narcotics as far as Japan and New Zealand. In 2022, 179kg of cocaine were found in waters near the port of Merak on Java island, at the time the largest cocaine seizure in the country, the UN drug agency said in a 2023 global report on cocaine. Reuters
