Interception off North Sumatra
Officers intercepted the vessel off Tanjungbalai Asahan, North Sumatra, before escorting it to Belawan Port. The joint operation brought together the National Police, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), and Customs and Excise. Police confiscated the ship, communication devices, and 58 sacks of ketamine hydrochloride with a gross weight of 1.16 tons.
Eight crew members were arrested: seven Indonesians and one Taiwanese national. National Police Chief Suyudi Ario Seto described the operation at an October 23, 2026, press conference at Bandar Deli Port in Medan.
In a statement issued in Jakarta on October 25, Dasco expressed concern about the case and described it as evidence of cross-border drug trafficking targeting Indonesia's youth. He said the operation had potentially saved millions of people. "We must all do our part to fight a threat that can seriously harm the nation's children," he said.
Police records identify the vessel's registered owner as Makmur Marine Petroleum, based in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Dasco said the latest information indicated that the vessel carrying the drugs was believed to belong to a Malaysia-based company.
Crew members' legal status
The Narcotics Crime Directorate of Bareskrim Polri, the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency, named a 43-year-old Taiwanese national identified as YCY as a suspect. Investigators allege that he managed the ship and directed the smuggling operation. The seven Indonesian crew members remained witnesses as of October 23.
YCY was charged under Article 435 of Law No. 17/2023 on Health. The provision carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison or a fine of up to 2 billion rupiah.
Investigators trace the vessel's route
Suyudi said the intelligence investigation began in August 2026. Documents recovered from Fushan Sing 1, a vessel previously intercepted with approximately 800 kilograms of ketamine, helped investigators trace the identity of the MT Global 168.
According to the police investigation, the MT Global 168 departed Pasir Gudang in Johor, Malaysia, in September, bound for waters near the Andaman Sea. After a stop at Port Klang for water and fuel, it allegedly received the ketamine through a ship-to-ship transfer in the Andaman Sea. Investigators suspect the transfer was intended to hide the shipment's origin and evade inspections.
Investigators also allege that the crew deliberately disabled the vessel's Automatic Identification System (AIS) for extended periods. Records showed a signal outage lasting three days and 17 hours. Maritime monitoring on October 18 detected the vessel broadcasting two identities: MP12168, classified as a tanker, and Roforsky Dolphin, classified as a tugboat.
Police estimates and other seizures
At the October 23 press conference, Suyudi valued the confiscated ketamine at an estimated 3.48 trillion rupiah, or about $192 million. That estimate assumed a black-market price of 3 million rupiah per gram.
Based on the quantity seized, Suyudi estimated that the operation protected about 5.8 million people from potential ketamine abuse. He also estimated that it could avert up to 116 trillion rupiah in rehabilitation costs, using an assumed cost of 20 million rupiah per person for six months. Both figures were police estimates.
The interception was Indonesia's second major ketamine seizure in about two months. Just over two months earlier, authorities stopped a ship near the Riau Islands carrying 1.3 metric tons of ketamine from Thailand, concealed in 65 sacks.
Authorities announced another, separate operation on October 23: a joint BNN, police, and customs team had uncovered a clandestine narcotics laboratory in Pidie regency, Aceh. That operation yielded methamphetamine with a gross weight of 1.2 tons.
