Indonesian authorities have seized two large shipments of illegal drugs worth hundreds of millions of dollars in operations conducted on the island of Sumatra earlier this week. The busts, announced on Wednesday, involved intercepting ketamine and methamphetamine shipments in separate incidents.

According to national police chief Suyudi Ario Seto, a ship carrying 1.1 tonnes of ketamine valued at approximately 3.48 trillion rupiah (around $192 million) was intercepted in waters off Sumatra on Tuesday. Law enforcement officials detained eight crew members aboard the vessel, including seven Indonesians and one Taiwanese national.

The following day, authorities uncovered 1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine in Aceh province in a separate operation. This second bust resulted in the arrest of eleven individuals: nine Indonesian nationals and two Chinese citizens at multiple locations linked to the drug shipment.

Indonesia enforces some of the world’s strictest anti-drug laws, with severe penalties that include the death sentence for traffickers. However, despite these stringent laws, the country has maintained a moratorium on executions for several years, refraining from carrying out capital punishment.

These recent seizures highlight Indonesia’s ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking within and around its borders. Law enforcement agencies continue to prioritize operations targeting large-scale drug shipments, reflecting government commitment to regulating and curbing narcotics circulation in the region.