$5.5m Ocean Meth Bust Leaves 5 Dead, 7 Arrested

Police arrested seven Iranians, shot dead three more and seized $5.5 million worth of methamphetamine in a high-seas drug bust this week. Two other men, thought to be Somalis, drowned during the incident.

The events took place as members of a suspected Iranian-Dutch smuggling syndicate made two attempts to unload drugs from a cargo ship in the waters off Ujung Genteng, on the south coast of West Java.

Narcotics police announced the bust on Friday, saying it had been the result of intensive monitoring of the syndicate.

“For the past month, the National Police’s narcotics unit has been conducting surveillance on a drug smuggling syndicate operating in the seas off Sukabumi district, near Ujung Genteng,” a police spokesman, Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution, said in Jakarta.

Police say the drugs were being transported aboard a cargo ship whose final destination was Australia. They did not say from where the ship originated.

On Monday, the smugglers attempted to transport the drugs from the ship, which remained off the coast, to the shore, the police said.

They arrested five Iranians who were at the port in Ujung Genteng, allegedly awaiting delivery of the methamphetamine.

Presumably unaware of the arrests, three people paddled away from the cargo ship in a life raft. The raft overturned and two men, thought to be Somalis, drowned. Their bodies have not been recovered. The third man, an Iranian, was rescued by the police and arrested.

Police say the smugglers then made a second attempt to land the drugs using a small vessel on Friday morning, shortly after midnight. Police intercepted the Iranians, who attempted to evade capture and fired on the officers. The police returned fire, killing three and wounding the fourth in the leg. Officers recovered 50 kilograms of drugs.

“A firefight took place between the perpetrators and our officers, which left three suspects dead,” Saud said. “They don’t speak English, so it is hard for us to interrogate the ones in custody.”

The Australian Federal Police are currently monitoring the cargo ship, he added.

Additional reporting from Antara
$5.5m Ocean Meth Bust Leaves 5 Dead, 7 Arrested | The Jakarta Globe