Medan, North Sumatra (ANTARA) - Indonesian police have foiled an attempt to smuggle 1.16 tons of ketamine hydrochloride (HCL) aboard the cargo ship MT Global 168 off Tanjung Balai in Asahan District, North Sumatra.
General Suyudi Ario Seto said officers arrested the ship's eight crew members, seven Indonesians and one Taiwanese, in the operation on Wednesday.
"Officers also seized 58 sacks containing a total of 1.16 gross tons of ketamine drugs, communication devices, and the boat itself," Seto said at a press conference in Bandar Deli, Medan, on Friday.
The operation followed a week of surveillance that began October 14, when the vessel was spotted sailing parallel to the waters of Perak on Malaysia's west coast, Seto said.
After slowing west of Penang Island, it moved to the northern Malacca Strait and was seen off Aceh's northern coast by October 15.
On October 16, the vessel was detected off Palian in southern Thailand before sailing south back to Indonesian waters.
"As we monitored the ship, we found an anomaly in the boat's automatic identification system as it transmitted two different identities, namely MT Global 168 as a tanker ship and 'Gross Dolphin,'" he added.
A joint task force planned a raid on October 19, involving the national police's Water Police Corps, the Criminal Investigation Agency, North Sumatra Police, the Customs Agency and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN).
Officers raided the ship on Wednesday as it entered Tanjung Balai waters after sailing from Port Klang in Malaysia, and seized the vessel and its cargo.
Seto said the operation prevented 1.16 tons of the drug from being distributed in Indonesia, protecting an estimated 5.8 million people from the risk of ketamine abuse.
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Translator: M Sahbainy Nasution, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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