Indonesia seizes 1.1 tonnes of ketamine in major haul

MEDAN: Indonesian authorities have seized 1.1 tonnes of ketamine from a foreign vessel in Sumatran waters, the Southeast Asian nation's second major drug bust in two months, a police official said Friday (Oct 23).

Ketamine functions primarily as a fast-acting anaesthetic but is widely abused as an illicit party drug. Its distribution is tightly controlled and monitored in Indonesia.

The intelligence community began tracking the MT Global 168 tanker, sailing from Thailand through the Andaman Sea, in August after receiving information it may be engaged in suspicious activities, national police chief Suyudi Ario Seto told reporters in the city of Medan.

The vessel flew the Mongolian flag but is owned by a company based in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Suyudi said.

On Tuesday, police and customs officers intercepted the vessel in the Strait of Malacca as it was heading toward Port Klang, Malaysia, and brought it to Belawan Port in North Sumatra for inspection.

"From this search operation, the joint team managed to seize illicit drugs in the form of ketamine HCL (hydrochloride). The evidence was found in 58 sacks with a total weight reaching 1.16 tonnes," he said.

Authorities arrested eight crew members, seven Indonesian and one Taiwanese.

Police estimated the load was worth 3.48 trillion rupiah (US$192 million), Suyudi said.

The seizure came just over two months after Indonesian authorities intercepted a ship carrying 1.3 tonnes of ketamine from Thailand hidden inside 65 sacks near the Riau islands.

Indonesia has some of the world's toughest anti-drug laws, including the death penalty for traffickers, but has maintained a moratorium on executions for several years.