en.malanginspirasi.com – A joint operation conducted by the Indonesian National Police, National Narcotics Agency, and Customs, in collaboration with China’s National Narcotics Control Commission, has successfully dismantled a large-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory operating in Aceh.
Authorities seized nearly 1.2 tons of high-purity methamphetamine and arrested several suspects, including foreign chemical experts.
The multi-agency crackdown followed months of intensive surveillance tracking an international drug syndicate that smuggled liquid methamphetamine from Myanmar through Laos and Thailand into Banda Aceh.
To evade border checks, the liquid precursor was disguised inside commercial containers labeled under a construction brand name.
Two Chinese nationals, identified as LJ and XM, acted as the primary chemists overseeing the manufacturing process.
The suspects traveled from China via Malaysia to survey locations and manage the complex crystallization procedure. Inside the rented shop-house, the syndicate employed a highly systematic production routine that included heating the liquid precursor, freezing the solution, using modified washing machines to strain chemical impurities, and vacuum-sealing the final product into uniform one-kilogram packages.
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Joint law enforcement units executed coordinated raids across five strategic locations in Pidie, Bireuen, North Aceh, and Lhokseumawe.
Officers caught key suspects red-handed at a shop-house facility on Jalan Dayah Tanoh in Pidie Regency, securing dozens of liquid meth drums, hundreds of kilograms of finished crystal meth, and specialized processing equipment.
During the press briefing at the scene, police leadership highlighted the massive scale of harm prevented by the raid.
“If these 1.2 tons of methamphetamine had reached the market, the total economic valuation we effectively thwarted approaches Rp 2.16 trillion, saving six million citizens from the impact of drug trafficking,” The Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Kapolri) is Police General (Jenderal Polisi) Suyudi Ario Seto stated while detailing the raid’s economic breakdown.
Authorities further emphasized that this operation marks a critical shift in the regional threat level.
“The discovery of this laboratory is a heavy blow to international syndicates and serves as a stern warning that Indonesia is no longer just a target market, but a target production hub. Narcotics represent a new form of colonization designed to paralyze our national resilience,” he remarked.
Police urged property owners to exercise strict vigilance when renting out shop-houses and residences.
Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies are pursuing remaining fugitives, applying anti-money laundering measures, and collaborating with Chinese authorities to apprehend the syndicate’s primary masterminds.
