Lampung Police Chief Inspector General Helfi Assegaf said the suspect, identified by the initials SEM, remains at large following the seizure of meth transported from Aceh Province through Bakauheni Ferry Port.
Police arrested three Aceh residents identified as WS, 30, R, 44, and S, 43, who allegedly acted on SEM’s orders to transport the drugs, Assegaf told reporters in Kalianda on Monday.
The smuggling attempt occurred at the Bakauheni Ferry Port’s seaport interdiction area on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, at around 9 p.m. local time.
Investigators said the suspects concealed the drugs using a common trafficking tactic to evade detection.
The meth was hidden among sacks of jengkol, a pungent local bean, loaded onto a truck traveling from Aceh to Jakarta, Assegaf said.
The three suspects served as couriers and were promised payments ranging from 10 million rupiah to 100 million rupiah (US$640–US$6,400), depending on their roles in the operation.
WS and R allegedly drove a modified truck carrying the drugs toward Jakarta’s Kramat Jati market, while S escorted the shipment using a private vehicle, police said.
Assegaf said WS is an active university student in Aceh who agreed to participate after being promised 10 million rupiah and repairs to his home damaged by recent flooding.
WS and R were each promised 10 million rupiah and home rehabilitation assistance, while S was promised 100 million rupiah but had received only 50 million rupiah, he added.
Economic value
Police estimate the seized meth had an economic value of hundreds of billions of rupiah in the illicit market.
At an assumed street value of one million rupiah per gram, the 122.515 kilograms of meth would be worth about 122 billion rupiah, Assegaf said.
Authorities also estimated the seizure prevented widespread drug abuse, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of people.
Assuming one gram is consumed by five users, the confiscated meth could have affected about 612,575 people, the Lampung police chief said.
Indonesia enforces some of the world's toughest drug laws, with major traffickers facing life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Despite these strict penalties, the country remains a lucrative market for drug syndicates, driven by its large population and millions of users.
The nation's drug trade is valued at an estimated 66 trillion rupiah (US$4.3 billion), according to the National Narcotics Agency (BNN).
A BNN survey estimates that 3.4 million Indonesians use drugs—roughly 180 out of every 10,000 people aged 15 to 64.
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Translator: Riadi G, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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