Customs and BNN Foil Smuggling of 2.6 Tonnes of Liquid Methamphetamine in Riau Islands
A joint team comprising the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC), the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Riau Islands Regional Police has successfully thwarted an attempt to distribute liquid methamphetamine on a massive scale. The operation, conducted on 17-18 August 2026 in the waters of the Riau Islands, resulted in the seizure of approximately 2.6 tonnes of liquid methamphetamine and 1,570,000 cigarettes without excise stamps.
Director General of Customs and Excise, Lieutenant General (Ret.) Djaka Budhi Utama, stated that the success was the result of in-depth intelligence analysis conducted since early August 2026. Officers detected anomalous movements of the Tanzania-flagged vessel MV Ocean Porter, which was suspected of conducting ship-to-ship narcotics activity in the Andaman Sea-Malacca Strait area.
The pursuit was carried out on 17 August 2026, involving the Customs Marine Patrol Task Force of the Riau Islands Special Regional Office, the Customs PSO of Tanjung Balai Karimun, and the BNN Onboard Team. Patrol vessels BC20011, BC30005, BC1410, and BC1305 successfully intercepted the MV Ocean Porter in the waters north of Tanjung Parit at night.
Intensive inspection on 18 August 2026 using K-9 detection dogs and advanced equipment such as backscatter x-ray and defender omega revealed evidence hidden in the ship’s hold.
The seizure of 2.6 tonnes of liquid methamphetamine is estimated to have saved approximately 14.15 million lives from potential narcotics abuse. Meanwhile, the discovery of illicit GD-brand cigarettes suspected to originate from China has a goods value reaching Rp3,917,150,000.
“The potential state loss from the excise sector that was successfully prevented reached Rp4,463,478,600,” explained Djaka Budhi Utama at a press conference on Friday (21/8).
In this operation, officers detained 10 crew members, all of whom are Myanmar nationals. The crew members and evidence have been taken to the Customs PSO Pier at Tanjung Balai Karimun for further examination.
Customs, together with BNN and the National Police, are committed to further investigating the international network behind this smuggling attempt. “This disclosure is evidence of the importance of intelligence-based surveillance of transnational narcotics trafficking networks,” concluded Djaka.