Indonesian authorities have foiled a major international drug smuggling attempt, seizing approximately two tons of methamphetamine from a vessel in the waters off Karimun, Riau Islands − arguably one of the country’s largest drug busts to date, with an estimated street value of Rp5 trillion (US$312 million).

The seizure was the result of a five-month-long joint intelligence operation involving the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, the Indonesian Navy, and several foreign partners, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Thailand’s anti-narcotics agencies.

“This was not an ordinary operation. It took months of coordinated intelligence work,” BNN Chief, Commissioner General Marthinus Hukom, told a press conference in Batam, Riau Islands on Monday, May 26, 2025.

He said authorities began monitoring the movement of the Sea Dragon Tarawa, a cargo vessel believed to be part of an international trafficking syndicate operating between Thailand, Myanmar, and Southeast Asia. The vessel was suspected of carrying meth from the Golden Triangle region through Andaman waters, heading toward Indonesian, Malaysian, and Philippine territories.

The vessel was intercepted on the night of May 20 by a joint task force, following its suspicious course from the Andaman Sea into Indonesian waters. Two customs patrol boats, two Navy warships, and support from the Riau Islands Police and the TNI's Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) were mobilized for the operation.

Upon inspection at the Tanjung Uncang Customs Port in Batam, officers discovered 67 cardboard boxes containing 2,000 packages of crystal meth, weighing a total of 2,115,130 grams. The drugs were concealed in hidden compartments located at the front and side of the ship.

The seized narcotics bore distinctive packaging often associated with syndicates linked to the Golden Triangle, a notorious region overlapping the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar.

Six crew members were detained, four Indonesian nationals, identified as HS, LC, FR, and RH, and two Thai nationals, WP and TL. All have been named as suspects.

Background

The massive methamphetamine seizure in the waters off Karimun, Riau Islands, underscores the growing complexity and scale of international narcotics trafficking networks operating across Southeast Asia. The Sea Dragon Tarawa operation, involving multiple Indonesian and foreign agencies, was the culmination of nearly half a year of covert surveillance and intelligence coordination.

Authorities began monitoring suspicious maritime traffic late last year after receiving intelligence report about a drug syndicate using shipping lanes in the Malacca Strait and South China Sea to smuggle methamphetamine from the Golden Triangle, a region long known as a hub for illicit drug production, to Sounteast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

BNN, in collaboration with the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, initiated a multi-agency intelligence-sharing program, incorporating support from the Indonesian Navy, BAIS, and international partners such as the U.S. DEA and Thailand’s Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) and Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB).

Investigators traced a specific drug pipeline believed to be operated by a syndicate linking drug manufacturers in Myanmar and Thailand with maritime distribution routes. This led them to focus on the Sea Dragon Tarawa, a vessel repeatedly spotted in suspicious zones, including the Andaman Sea, Malacca Strait, and waters around Taiwan and the Philippines.

“This network is international, sophisticated, and highly coordinated. They exploit the vulnerabilities of open waters and port logistics to move massive quantities of narcotics with military-like precision,” Hukom said.

The Sea Dragon Tarawa case is also seen as part of a wider regional trend. Just a week before this seizure, Indonesian naval forces intercepted another vessel carrying a combined 1.9 tons of meth and cocaine. The similarity in packaging, routes, and operational tactics between these cases suggests a single large syndicate or multiple groups working with shared suppliers.

Forensic analysis is currently underway to examine the chemical “drug signature” of the seized meth, which may confirm whether the drugs originated from the same source as previous busts, including one involving the vessel Aung Toei-Toei 99 earlier this year.

The identification of “Mr. Tan” or “Tansen,” a Thai national believed to be a key coordinator, marks another important development in the case. His international status as a fugitive has prompted BNN to initiate a red notice and pursue his extradition through Interpol.

Indonesia’s porous maritime borders and strategic location in regional shipping routes continue to make it a high-risk transit and destination country for drug trafficking. Authorities have pledged to intensify maritime patrols, enhance inter-agency coordination, and boost international collaboration to stem the tide of narcotics entering the region.

BNN is now working with the DEA and Thailand’s NSB to pursue Mr. Tan or Tansen, believed to be the key orchestrator behind the shipment and is currently a fugitive wanted by Thai authorities. Hukom said BNN will issue a red notice and declare Tansen as an international fugitive.

This bust follows another major seizure in the same waters just a week earlier, where Navy officers confiscated a vessel carrying 700 kg of meth and 1.2 tons of cocaine.