Indonesian sailors seize $82M of cocaine floating off port

Indonesia's navy says sailors deployed to secure travel during the Eid al-Fitr holiday made the country's biggest cocaine seizure after finding plastic packages of the drugs floating at sea

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Sailors deployed to secure travel during the Eid al-Fitr holiday made Indonesia's biggest cocaine seizure after finding plastic packages of the drugs floating at sea, the navy said.

Indonesia is a major hub for drug trafficking in Southeast Asia and has strict drug laws, with convicted smugglers sometimes executed by firing squad.

The four black packages containing 179 kilograms (nearly 400 pounds) of cocaine worth 1.2 trillion rupiah ($82.6 million) were found floating near Merak port on Java island on Sunday, the navy’s deputy chief of staff said at a news conference Monday.

Smuggling drugs by throwing packages and a buoy into the sea is a common tactic, Vice Adm. Ahmadi Heri Purwono said. Smugglers likely put the drugs in the water near a port for them to be moved by a speedboat and were monitoring the packages when they were seized by the navy, he said.