Largest Drug Lab Ever Busted

National Police Chief General Suyudi Ario Seto led a site inspection and press conference on Friday (23/10/2026) announcing the bust of the largest clandestine methamphetamine laboratory ever dismantled by Indonesian authorities. The lab occupied two shop-house units in Beureueh Dua village (Gampong Ulee Tutue), Mutiara Timur district, Pidie regency, Aceh.

The raid was carried out quietly on Wednesday (21/10/2026) between 14:30 and 17:00 local time by a joint team from Indonesia's National Narcotics Board (BNN), the Directorate of Narcotics Crimes of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim), and the Directorate General of Customs and Excise. Officers seized a total of 1.2 tons of narcotics — 20 drums of liquid meth and about 500 kilograms of crystal meth — and arrested 11 suspects: nine Indonesian citizens and two Chinese nationals.

China–Golden Triangle Route

Early investigation points to an international narcotics network linking China, Malaysia, and Indonesia. A network originating from China was detected in February 2026 transporting hundreds of kilograms of liquid methamphetamine from northern Myanmar, through Laos and Thailand, arriving in Banda Aceh on 18 May 2026.

Two Chinese nationals with the initials LJ (45) and XM (42) are suspected of being the lead chemists — the lab's "cooks." They flew from Yunnan, China, transited through Malaysia, and entered Banda Aceh on 24 May 2026, spending 10 days surveying the area before returning to Malaysia on 2 June 2026.

The Police Chief is now coordinating with Chinese authorities to pursue the suspected mastermind of the network, identified by the initials LS. Field coordinators with the initials Z, ES, J, BR, and SS remain on the wanted list. Six mobile phones found at the scene are undergoing digital forensics, and investigators will apply money-laundering (TPPU) charges to cut off the network's financial flows.

Rp2.16 Trillion and 6 Million Lives Saved

At the Pidie press conference, the Police Chief laid out the economic scale of the seizure: at an average price of Rp1.8 million per gram, the 1.2 tons of meth represent nearly Rp2.16 trillion in circulation value. Assuming one gram is consumed by five people, the bust is estimated to have saved about 6 million people from narcotics exposure.

He added the state could also have avoided up to Rp120 trillion in potential rehabilitation costs, assuming Rp20 million per person for six months of rehabilitation. "The evidence we seized today is not merely a statistic of achievement — it is millions of young lives of our nation that we managed to save," Suyudi said.

Earlier the same day, the Police Chief led a separate press conference unveiling 1.16 tons of ketamine HCl worth Rp3.48 trillion seized at Belawan Port, North Sumatra — eight crew members of the vessel MT Global 168 (seven Indonesians and one Taiwanese national) were arrested in that operation.