T

he National Narcotics Agency (BNN) set alight 862 kilograms (kg) of methamphetamine on Tuesday, worth Rp 1.7 trillion (US$136 million).

The drugs were confiscated as evidence at state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II'€™s garbage plant in Tangerang.

'€œThis is the second destruction of evidence this year and is the largest case in Southeast Asia in terms of the size of the evidence and number of suspects,'€ BNN head Insp. Gen. Anang Iskandar said.

He said the agency had destroyed drugs on 27 occasions in 2014, but stopped short of confirming the amount of drugs destroyed last year.

'€œDrugs should be destroyed within 28 days of arrest as stipulated by the Narcotics Law. Of the total evidence we confiscated, we set aside 415.5 grams for trial needs and research at the lab,'€ Anang said.

In cooperation with the China National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC) and the Hong Kong Police, the BNN exposed the activities of a drug- smuggling syndicate controlled by 41-year-old Hong Kong national Wong Chi Ping, who attempted to smuggle the 862 kg of meth from China to Indonesia via sea.

The operation involved transferring 42 sacks, each containing 20 packs of meth, from one ship to another while at sea. The receiving ship then resumed its trip and docked at Tikus Port in Dadap, Kosambi, Tangerang, Banten.

At the port, the sacks were transferred to a car that transported them to Taman Surya, Kalideres, West Jakarta. The packages were later transferred to another car.

While transferring the sacks, the four Hong Kong nationals of Wong; TSL, 40; SUF, 33; and CHM, 34; as well as Malaysian national TST, 48; and two Indonesian nationals AS, 48; and SN, 39; were arrested by BNN officers.

BNN officers also arrested the chief of the ship'€™s crew identified as S, 36, and another crew member identified as A, 21, when the ship docked at Dadap beach.

Preliminary investigations suggest Wong worked for a drug lord of Chinese nationality. Wong was also tasked with recruiting people to join the network.

He was promised HK$640,000 ($82,555) if the smuggling operation was a success.

Wong admitted to his involvement in the narcotics business since 2011 and had previously launched three smuggling attempts via sea, but each had failed due to various reasons.

A former fisherman, Wong started a fish business in Indonesia and eventually married an Indonesian woman.

He also admitted to investigators that he had studied Indonesia'€™s maritime map to plan the latest smuggling attempt and had prepared a storage room in a hidden bathroom in the Citra Garden housing complex in Kalideres, West Jakarta.

Wong is facing multiple charges for violating articles 112, 114 and 132 of the 2009 Narcotics Law, which carry the maximum sentence of death.