Indonesia seizes 2.6 tonnes of meth from ship

Indonesia seized 2.6 tonnes of liquid methamphetamine hidden on a Tanzanian-flagged vessel near Bengkalis in Riau province, in one of the country's biggest drug busts, a senior narcotics official said.

The National Narcotics Agency said it received intelligence that a vessel sailing from Sarawak, Malaysia, through the Andaman Sea may be carrying narcotics to Indonesia. In a joint operation with customs officials, it intercepted the MV Rain Maker late Monday.

Roy Hardi Siahaan, an official at the narcotics agency, said inspectors found the liquid meth stored in eight water barrels and a water tank. The agency said the ship was sailing under a fake name.

Authorities arrested 10 crew members, all Myanmar nationals. The agency said sniffer dogs also found more than 1.5 million illegal cigarettes on board.

The bust was the second involving a Tanzanian-flagged vessel intercepted in the area this month. On August 8, Indonesian authorities seized 1.3 tonnes of ketamine from a ship in waters around the Riau Islands near Singapore and arrested eight crew members.