Wednesday, Indonesian police said they have infiltrated a major drug smuggling ring that moved 2.5 tons of methamphetamine into the country from Afghanistan, worth about $82 million.

Security sources stated the authorities shot one of the suspects dead and arrested 17 others who were arrested during police raids in Sumatra's Aceh province and the capital Jakarta in recent weeks.

Some of the potent central nervous system stimulant drugs, mainly used recreationally, were placed inside food containers and then hidden in boats or lockers on land. The haul was displayed in piles at a Jakarta press briefing Wednesday.

Some of those arrested were already in prison on drug offenses including a number condemned to die for trafficking under Indonesia's tough drug laws, police said, without giving any further details.

The incarcerated suspects were key players in the drugs ring from behind bars, stated the security sources.

Indonesia has become a key destination and transit point for international drug trafficking.

In 2018, Indonesian police said two separate busts resulted in the seizure of about three tons of methamphetamine coming from Taiwan.

In April alone, 13 members of a drug trafficking ring, including three from Iran and one from Pakistan, were sentenced to die for smuggling 400 kilograms of methamphetamine into the country.