MEDAN; Indonesian authorities have intercepted the Mongolian-flagged tanker MT Global 168, which sailed from Malaysia carrying 1.16 tonnes of ketamine worth about Rp 3.48 trillion (US$192 million) in the Malacca Strait.
Eight ship crew members were detained, mostly Indonesians, along with a Chinese crew member. They were identified as ship captain IC, chief officer RS, chief engineer JA, second engineer IAE, oiler JF and able seamen RM and JBS. The Chinese crew member, YCY, was also an able seaman.
National Police chief Gen Suyudi Ario Seto said the investigation into the smuggling attempt began with intelligence surveillance after irregularities were detected in the MT Global 168’s movements.
He said analysts from the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the Customs and Excise Directorate General had monitored the vessel since August.
He added that the ship’s identity was established through docking documents found aboard the impounded vessel Phu Sanh Singharaj.
“Previously, we seized 800 kilograms of ketamine onboard Phu Sanh Singharaj, where we tracked the trace of MT Global 168,” he told a press conference at Belawan Port in Medan on Friday.
“The tanker departed from docking in Pasir Gudang, Johor state, Malaysia, heading to the Andaman Sea in September through Port Klang in Selangor state, Malaysia, to refill fresh water and fuel.”
After spending several days in Port Klang, the tanker continued its voyage to the Andaman Sea to conduct a ship-to-ship transfer of ketamine.
“This is the modus operandi often taken by smugglers,” he said. “They come from various countries and conduct transactions in the Andaman Sea or Malacca Strait using the ship-to-ship transfer scheme.”
He added that analysts were convinced the MT Global 168 had conducted a ship-to-ship transaction in the Andaman Sea during the second week of October.
Their assessment was reinforced by the crew’s decision to switch off the automatic identification system (AIS). Smugglers typically turn off the system when conducting transactions, but the move can also provide law enforcement agencies with a clue to suspicious vessel movements.
“MT Global 168 turned off its AIS for three days and 17 hours to evade detection,” he said.
“On Oct 14, however, between 12.31pm and 1.25pm, the MT Global 168 was monitored passing through the Malacca Strait, heading north-west along the waters near Taiping in Perak state, Malaysia.”
The tanker maintained a steady speed of between 5.5 knots (10.18 kilometres per hour) and six knots as it continued north-west past the waters off northern Aceh. On Oct 16, at 5.37am, it arrived in Thailand’s western outer waters near Trang province.
The tanker then carried out a loitering manoeuvre at reduced speed.
On Oct 18, the AIS signal recorded 16 vessel positions in an anchoring area, with the tanker travelling at 0.08 knots. The condition was analysed as possibly resulting from anchor movement or sea currents.
“At this moment, the ship was slowing down,” Suyudi said.
Taking advantage of the vessel’s reduced speed, a joint team from the BNN, Customs and the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) deployed customs patrol boat BC20006 and police patrol boat KP Murai 4018 to pursue and intercept the tanker near Kuala Tanjung on Oct 20 at about 3.05am.
“The initial plan was to intercept the tanker before it entered Port Klang in Malaysia,” Suyudi said.
“However, the ship was detained off Tanjung Balai Asahan waters.”
Officers subsequently raided the vessel and seized 1.16 tonnes of ketamine hydrochloride (HCl) packed in 58 sacks.
Ketamine is a general anaesthetic with analgesic and hallucinogenic properties. It is used medically for anaesthesia, depression and pain management, but is also abused as a psychoactive or recreational drug.
With a price of Rp 3 million (US$165.80) per gramme, the total value of the seized ketamine was Rp 3.48 trillion, Suyudi said.
Assuming that one gramme of ketamine could be consumed by five people, the seizure had potentially prevented 5.8 million people from using the drug.
“With an assumed rehabilitation cost of Rp 20 million per person for six months, the seizure could have prevented Rp 116 trillion of rehabilitation cost.
“These numbers reflect the large potential impacts caused by international drug syndicates against national resilience.”
Meanwhile, Customs and Excise Director General Lt Gen (Rtd) Djaka Budhi Utama said the case was uncovered through collaboration and continuous intelligence analysis among law enforcement agencies working to dismantle international drug syndicates operating in Indonesia, particularly along the Malacca Strait.
“We cannot work alone in eradicating narcotics. Through collaboration, we can achieve better results,” he said.
Later that day, Suyudi visited a crystal methamphetamine factory in Beureueh Dua village, East Mutiara district, Pidie regency, in neighbouring Aceh.
A separate joint team from the BNN, Customs and the National Police raided a shophouse on Wednesday and seized 1.2 tonnes of liquid and crystal methamphetamine, along with production equipment.
Officers also detained 11 people, including two Chinese nationals.
Suyudi said Indonesia was no longer merely a market for drug distribution but had become a production hub for international drug syndicates.
“The crystal methamphetamine factory case is a strong warning that Indonesia is no longer just a market but has become a production target for international syndicates,” he told a press conference in Pidie.
— The Jakarta Post
