Bareskrim Names 8 Crew of MV King Sun as Suspects in Smuggling of Nearly 1.3 Tons of Ketamine

BATAM - The Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police has named eight crew members of the MV King Sun as suspects in the case of alleged smuggling of 1,298 kilograms or nearly 1.3 tons of ketamine in the waters north of Tanjung Berakit, Riau Islands.

The Head of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Unit, Inspector General Syahar Diantono, said the eight crew members had been detained for investigation.

"Eight people who are the crew of the MV King Sun have been named as suspects," he said, quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, August 12.

The eight suspects consist of a Taiwanese citizen with the initials MHT (43) and seven Myanmar citizens, namely MML (36), KH (29), TA (53), PL (27), ML (54), ZO (37), and MML (44).

Based on the results of the examination, the police said that a suspect with the initials PL was positive for drug use, while the other seven suspects were negative.

"The eight suspects are detained at the Barelang Police," said Syahar.

The Bareskrim Polri investigation team also examined witnesses and investigated the evidence secured from the ship.

Syahar said that the case of the smuggling of ketamine was processed based on the provisions of Law Number 17 of 2023 concerning Health.

Ketamine is a hard drug whose use is under surveillance and is currently not included in the category of narcotics.

"This entry violates the health law. This is a hard drug, not a narcotic, with a maximum penalty of 12 years in prison," he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) Komjen Pol. Suyudi Ario Seto said that BNN together with the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police were still investigating the international network behind the smuggling.

According to him, investigators, among other things, traced the origin of ketamine, the purpose of the shipment, and the network involved in smuggling.

"BNN RI is working with the Criminal Investigation Unit to unravel this international network up to the top," he said.

The MV King Sun uses the flag of Tanzania and according to investigators it is suspected to have a history of changing the name or identity of the ship.

Suyudi said the use of foreign-flagged ships and the change of ship identity was one of the modes investigated in the investigation.

"We will reveal where this ship came from and where this ship is aimed at," he said.

Previously, the Indonesian Navy together with a joint team thwarted the alleged smuggling of 1,298 kilograms of ketamine from the MV King Sun in the northern waters of Tanjung Berakit, Riau Islands, on August 6, 2026.