The smugglers were reportedly bringing drugs from Malaysia into Indonesia via the Penurun Beach area, Muntai village, Bantan district.
Head of the Bengkalis Customs and Excise Office, Type C Madya Pratama, Eka Mustika Galih Sayudo, informed that two suspects were apprehended during the operation: AS, a resident of Jangkang village, and BI, a resident of Muntai.
“Both are suspected of being directly involved in a methamphetamine trafficking network operating from Muar, Malaysia,” he said in Bengkalis on Wednesday.
They were arrested based on a public tip about a suspicious speedboat transporting narcotics from Malaysia to Bengkalis, he disclosed. Acting on the tip, police opened an investigation on July 13, 2025, and set up a joint task force to draw up an operational strategy.
The task force, formed by Bengkalis Customs and Excise in coordination with Sub-Directorate IV of the Directorate of Drug Crimes of the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency, also launched sea and land patrols.
Around 11:30 a.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB) on July 14, the BC 10010 Marine Patrol Task Force spotted a suspicious speedboat headed toward Malaysian waters and initiated pursuit.
The suspects beached the vessel and fled the scene. Investigators later recovered three bags containing 27 green plastic packets, suspected to be methamphetamine, hidden in bushes near the shoreline.
“The evidence was promptly transported to the Bengkalis Customs Office for further examination,” Sayudo added.
In a subsequent land pursuit, the authorities initially failed to capture the suspects.
However, with additional intelligence inputs, the two were arrested and handed over to Sub-Directorate IV for further investigation.
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Translator: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
