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CBS News
27-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Indonesia reels in 2 tons of meth from fishing boat in country's biggest-ever drug bust
Pet raccoon caught with meth pipe during traffic stop in Ohio Indonesian authorities seized two tons of crystal methamphetamine hidden on a fishing boat and arrested six people in the country's biggest-ever drug bust, officials said Monday. The National Narcotics Agency, or BNN, said Thai authorities had notified them that the Indonesian-flagged vessel, sailing from the Andaman Sea to Batam Island, could be carrying a huge haul of narcotics. Indonesian authorities said they intercepted the boat in waters off the Riau islands last Tuesday, and found 2,000 packages of crystal meth stuffed into cardboard boxes hidden within the ship. "The result of the search is two tonnes of crystal methamphetamine," BNN chief Marthinus Hukom told a press conference. "This is the biggest haul in Indonesia's narcotics bust history." Authorities released images of handcuffed suspects wearing orange jumpsuits and face masks sitting in front of hundreds of packages of the alleged drugs. Suspects are seen alongside seized crystal methamphetamine during a press conference by Indonesia's National Narcotics Agency (BNN) officials in Batam, Riau Islands, on May 26, 2025, after they seized two tonnes of the drug hidden aboard a fishing boat following a tip-off from Thai authorities. ANDARU AK/AFP via Getty Images Marthinus estimated the drugs to be worth more than $4 million. Indonesian authorities investigated the case over the last five months, working closely with Thai authorities. The illicit drugs were produced in the "Golden Triangle" region where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet, and were smuggled by an organized crime group working with Indonesian traffickers, Marthinus said. Six people onboard the fishing boat were arrested, including four Indonesians and two Thai nationals. The crew told authorities they were fishermen recruited by the drugs syndicate which promised to pay them 50,000 Thai Baht ($1,500) and a $3,000 bonus. Marthinus said a fugitive from Thailand was behind the operation and that Indonesia would issue a red notice for the trafficker. Monday's drug bust was the second major drug seizure this month. Indonesian authorities previously seized 1.2 tons of crystal meth and more than 700 kilograms of cocaine inside a Thailand-flagged fishing boat near the Riau islands. Authorities said they arrested five people and released an image of the suspects on ship with packages of drugs and armed officers behind them. In a separate case, Indonesian authorities arrested an Australian on Monday for allegedly smuggling cocaine on the tourist island of Bali, a charge that could carry the death penalty, officials said Monday. Indonesia has extremely strict drug laws, and convicted smugglers are sometimes executed by firing squad. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Arab News
27-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Indonesia intercepts record meth haul from Golden Triangle
JAKARTA: Indonesia has marked the biggest seizure of drugs in its history as authorities intercepted 2 tonnes of methamphetamine coming from the Golden Triangle, the world's most notorious drug-producing region. The drug bust, carried out by a joint task force from the National Narcotics Agency, the Indonesian Armed Forces, Customs, and the National Police, was a five-month intelligence-based operation. As the Sea Dragon Terawa vessel, which carried the narcotics, entered Indonesian waters last week, it was escorted to Tanjung Uncang port in Batam for a customs search and crew inspection. During the search, authorities discovered cardboard boxes wrapped in clear plastic, each containing numerous green tea packages containing 2,000 packages of methamphetamine weighing 2,115 kg, the narcotics agency said in a press conference on Monday. 'The 2-tonne methamphetamine (bust) is the largest seizure in the history of drug eradication in Indonesia,' the narcotics agency's head, Marthinus Hukom, told reporters. Six crew members — four Indonesians and two Thais — have been arrested by police. Under Indonesian law, they could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted. They are believed to be part of the same group that was behind another drug haul intercepted in the waters off Riau Islands earlier this month. The crew of the Aungtoetoe99 vessel — comprising nationals of Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand — was arrested on May 13 with 1.2 tonnes of cocaine and 768 kg of methamphetamine. Hukom said they were offered 50,000 baht ($1,500) per trip by a syndicate operating in the Golden Triangle region. The Golden Triangle, where the borders of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand meet, has been synonymous with the global drug trade. From the 1950s to the early 2000s, it was one of the largest heroin-producing regions. Recently, it has also become a major source of methamphetamine, especially meth pills and crystal meth, much of which is trafficked throughout Asia and beyond. 'Information from partners indicates that there is an international narcotics syndicate from the Golden Triangle region whose operations involve a network of illicit drug distribution in Indonesia,' Hukom said. 'The narcotics carried by the vessel Sea Dragon Terawa are suspected to have been intended for distribution to several countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.'
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
The Independent
16-05-2025
- The Independent
Ship carrying cocaine and MDMA worth £320m seized by Indonesia
The Indonesian Navy has seized a ship carrying methamphetamine and cocaine worth $425m (£320m) off Sumatra this week, officials said. One Thai national and four Myanmar nationals found abroad the Thai-flagged vessel were arrested, the authorities 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 vessel was taken to a navy base in Tanjung Balai Karimun, the navy said, without sharing further details about the crew members. Officers seized nearly 100 yellow and white sacks holding about 1.2 tonnes of cocaine and 705kg of methamphetamine or MDMA worth 7trillion rupiah ($320m) in one of the largest drug busts in the country, navy spokesperson, I Made Wira Hady Arsanta Wardhana, said in a statement. Officials are still investigating where the drugs came from and where the ship was headed, navy official Fauzi, who goes by one name, told reporters. 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 United Nations drug agency said in a 2023 global report on cocaine. Last year, Indonesian authorities said at least four people were facing the death penalty for allegedly trafficking drugs into the resort island of Bali, defying the Indonesia 's notoriously strict anti-narcotic laws. Indonesia has some of the world's toughest drug laws, and has more than 150 people on death row, mostly for drug trafficking offences. About a third of them are foreigners. Earlier in November 2019, a court in Bali sentenced two Thai nationals to 16-year prison terms for smuggling 1kg of methamphetamine into the country. The same year, a French citizen was sentenced to death on Lombok, an island next to Bali, for smuggling 3kg of MDMA before a higher court commuted his sentence to 19 years in prison.
Malay Mail
16-05-2025
- Malay Mail
Indonesian navy seizes RM1.8b in cocaine and meth on Thai-flagged ship
JAKARTA, May 16 — Indonesia's navy seized a ship carrying nearly two tons of methamphetamine and cocaine worth US$425 million (RM1.8 billion) off Sumatra this week, and arrested a Thai national and four Myanmar nationals found aboard the vessel, the navy said today. 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 705 kilogrammes of methamphetamine worth 7 trillion rupiah (RM1.8 billion), navy spokesperson, I Made Wira Hady Arsanta Wardhana, said in a statement. 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 tons 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, 179 kg 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 United Nations drug agency said in a 2023 global report on cocaine. — Reuters
