Indonesian authorities seized 1.3 tons of ketamine worth about $116 million from a foreign vessel that had been under surveillance for several months. This was reported on Sunday by the head of Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency, Suyudi Ario Seto, AFP reports.

According to him, in February the authorities received information that the Tanzanian-flagged vessel MV King Sun was heading east from Thailand toward Indonesia with a suspicious cargo. After that, the vessel was placed under surveillance.

On Thursday, a military ship intercepted the MV King Sun as it entered Indonesia’s territorial waters. On August 7, a joint team discovered 65 sacks on board. Analysis showed that they contained ketamine.

The value of the seized shipment is estimated at about 2.07 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($116.2 million). Authorities continue to search the vessel to determine whether there is an additional quantity of the drug on board.

The vessel was intercepted in the waters off the Riau Islands province near Singapore. There were eight crew members on board — seven citizens of Myanmar and one citizen of Taiwan. All of them have been detained.

Investigators are establishing the origin of the cargo, its destination port, as well as the identities of the sender and recipient.

Ketamine is used primarily as a fast-acting anesthetic, but it is also widely used as an illicit drug. Its circulation in Indonesia is strictly controlled.

Last month, Indonesian authorities seized 3.37 tons of marijuana, thwarted its smuggling from Thailand, and detained 12 people. In 2021, the country’s police uncovered a supply route for 2.5 tons of methamphetamine from Afghanistan, resulting in the arrest of 17 suspects.

Indonesia has some of the toughest drug laws in the world, including the death penalty for drug traffickers. At the same time, the country has had a moratorium on carrying out death sentences for several years.