The Indonesian navy has arrested four Myanmar citizens and a Thai citizen who were found on board a ship that was carrying cocaine and methamphetamine worth $425million.

The navy reported that officers apprehended a ship in Tanjung Balai Karimun, Riau Islands Province after it had turned off its lights to try and flee Indonesian water.

In a press release, I Made Wira Hady Arsanta Wardhana said that officers seized almost 100 yellow and white bags containing 1.2 tons cocaine and 705 kilos of methamphetamine, worth 7 trillion Rupiah (US$425,92 million).

Indonesia's anti-narcotic laws are among the strictest in the world, and drug trafficking can lead to death.

The navy confirmed that the ship was brought to Tanjung Balai Karimun, where it flew a Thai flag. The navy did not provide any details about the origins of crew members other than their nationalities.

In a recent press conference, Fauzi, a navy official who goes by only one name, stated that officials are still investigating the origin of the drugs and the direction the ship was heading.

This is one of the biggest busts ever in the country.

In a report published in 2024, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime stated that organised crime groups were exploiting weak law enforcement in order to traffic the drug, primarily via the Gulf of Thailand.

Golden Triangle, an area in northeast Myanmar where parts of Thailand and Laos meet, has a history of drug production. It is mainly used for Asian crime syndicates who distribute the drugs as far as Japan or New Zealand.

The United Nations drug agency stated in its 2023 report that 179 kg (395lb) cocaine was found in 2022 in waters near Merak, Java Island. This was the largest cocaine seize in the country at the time. $1 = 16,435,0000 rupiah (Reporting and editing by William Maclean, Ananda Teresia)

(source: Reuters)