Indonesia Seizes 1.16 Tons of Ketamine From Mongolian-Flagged Tanker; Eight Arrested, Including One Taiwanese National
JAKARTA — Indonesian authorities seized 1.16 tons of ketamine aboard a Mongolian-flagged vessel from Malaysia in the waters of North Sumatra province earlier this week, the country's national police chief, Suyudi Ario Seto, said on Friday, October 23. Police and customs officers apprehended the tanker in the waters off Tanjung Balai in the province and arrested eight people — seven Indonesians and one Taiwanese national — including the captain, engineers and an oiler, Seto said.
The ketamine was found in 58 sacks weighing 1.16 tons, and Seto put the street value of the haul at 3.48 trillion rupiah ($192.64 million). The tanker had departed Pasir Gudang in Malaysia, transited through the Malacca Strait and headed to the Andaman Sea, where authorities believe it conducted a ship-to-ship transfer to receive the ketamine. Authorities had noticed "anomalies" in the vessel's Automatic Identification System before apprehending it. The amount of drugs proved how destructive "international syndicates are to our national security," Seto said.
Indonesia has strict drug laws. In 2015 it executed two Australians in the "Bali Nine" drug ring for attempting to smuggle heroin out of the resort island of Bali. (GSM, from Reuters)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 马六甲海峡上的船舶（资料图）。照片：ZoschH，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Ships in the Malacca Strait (file photo). Photo: ZoschH, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
