Fishing Boat With $426 Million Worth of Illegal Drugs Seized by Indonesian Navy

A patrol boat of the Indonesian Navy intercepted a foreign ship, disguised as a fishing boat, which was carrying about two tons of drugs worth $426 million.

The ship, Aungtoetoe 99, was carrying 1.2 tons of cocaine and 700 kg of crystal methamphetamine, with the narcotics being hidden in tea packets stored in sacks.

Officials became suspicious after the vessel turned off its lights, ignored the order to halt and increased its speed to leave Indonesian waters in the Tanjung Balai Karium region, Riau Islands, per the navy.

After the ship was captured, officials found that it did not have any fishing equipment.

The ship was flying the Thai Flag and taken to a navy base after which it was thoroughly searched, leading to the discovery of 60 white and 35 yellow sacks filled with cocaine and methamphetamine.

A Thai national and 4 Myanmar nationals who were on the vessel were arrested. They did not have any legal travel or sailing documents.

Investigation has begun to find out the origin of the drugs and where the vessel was going, the Navy’s First Fleet Armada commander, Rear Adm. Fauzi, said in a press conference.

Indonesia has one of the strictest anti-narcotics laws in the world, and drug trafficking is punishable by death.

This seizure is one of the biggest in the country, another being the confiscation of 190 tons of methamphetamine in 2023.

The Golden Triangle, a region of northeast Myanmar that meets portions of Laos and Thailand, has a history of drug production, and from here, Asian drug mafias take these drugs as far as Japan.

References: The Jakarta Post, Xinhua