China, Indonesia and Malaysia have dismantled a major transnational methamphetamine trafficking network, seizing approximately 1.2 tonnes of liquid methamphetamine and shutting down a large-scale processing facility in Indonesia, China’s Ministry of Public Security said on Friday.
The operation, conducted on 21 October by Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency (BNN), targeted a clandestine drug processing and purification facility in Aceh, where 11 people were arrested. The operation received support from China’s National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC) and Malaysia’s National Anti-Drugs Agency. The facility, housed in two shops, is believed to be the largest methamphetamine laboratory uncovered in Indonesia.
Investigators found equipment and materials used in drug production, including washing machines for processing methamphetamine and liquefied petroleum gas cylinders, according to local media reports. The seizure of liquid methamphetamine was part of a wider investigation into a trafficking network suspected of moving narcotics across several Southeast Asian countries.
China’s Ministry of Public Security described the operation as the largest in terms of arrests among transnational drug trafficking investigations jointly conducted by China and other countries in recent years. It also characterised the crackdown as one of the most comprehensive operations against an international drug trafficking network.
Chinese authorities separately arrested seven people in China suspected of having links to the organisation, according to information published on the website of the Indonesian National Police (INP). The arrests indicate that the investigation extended beyond the Indonesian facility and involved suspected participants operating in multiple countries.
The INP said the criminal group was suspected of smuggling liquid narcotics from Myanmar, Thailand and Laos to several destinations, including Indonesia. Indonesia’s Antara news agency reported that 10 of the 11 people arrested in Aceh had been formally named as suspects. They comprise eight Indonesian nationals and two Chinese nationals, while the remaining individual has been classified as a witness.
The two Chinese suspects, identified as LJ and XM, allegedly acted as the principal chemists responsible for converting liquid methamphetamine into crystal methamphetamine at the clandestine laboratory. They were reported to have travelled from Malaysia to Aceh. The Indonesian suspects allegedly performed supporting roles, including assisting in drug processing, supplying logistics, driving and providing escorts for the operation.
Indonesian police are also searching for two additional people suspected of involvement in the network, according to Indonesian media reports.
The investigation originated in China, where anti-drug authorities first identified leads pointing to the international smuggling network in October 2025. Chinese authorities subsequently conducted an intensive investigation over the following year before sharing intelligence with their Indonesian counterparts.
On Wednesday, Lan Weihong, deputy secretary general of the NNCC, led a Chinese delegation to Jakarta for discussions with INP Chief General Suyudi Ario Seto on the investigation and the joint operation.
“In September of this year, China’s NNCC reported this information to the Indonesian National Narcotics Agency (BNN), and both parties decided to cooperate to jointly eradicate transnational narcotics crimes,” Lan was quoted as saying.
Suyudi said Indonesian investigators were also examining possible connections between the network and other cases, including the discovery of a vessel in the Medan area and a Malaysian citizen suspected of involvement in the vessel’s ownership.
The Chinese and Indonesian authorities agreed to strengthen cooperation against transnational drug trafficking through intelligence exchanges and closer law enforcement collaboration. However, neither side has publicly provided details of the specific role played by Malaysia’s National Anti-Drugs Agency in the operation.
