KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 24 -- Federal narcotics investigators are working in close concert with Indonesian law enforcement to determine whether a Malaysian drug syndicate orchestrated the trafficking of 1.16 tonnes of ketamine hydrochloride aboard a coastal tanker intercepted off North Sumatra.

The 57-metre Mongolian-flagged vessel, MT Global 168, was intercepted off Tanjung Balai Asahan on October 20 after Indonesian authorities linked its registered ownership to Johor-based firm Makmur Marine Petroleum.

A boarding search uncovered 58 sacks concealing 1,160 individually wrapped bricks of high-grade ketamine hydrochloride, with an estimated black-market street value of 3.48 trillion rupiah, or roughly RM800 million.

Bukit Aman Narcotics Cri...