A 34-year-old Singaporean man has been arrested in Indonesia after authorities raided a house in the upscale Pantai Indah Kapuk area of North Jakarta that was allegedly operating as a factory for etomidate-laced vape cartridges, known as Kpods in Singapore. The raid took place on 17th July. Indonesian police and customs officials seized thousands of ready-for-distribution etomidate vape cartridges, along with mini laboratory equipment allegedly used to produce the substance.
The suspect, identified by the initials LHM and also known as Hayden, is suspected of playing a key role in the production and had reportedly been given a target of producing 500 etomidate cartridges a day. Local media outlet IDN Times reported that he was cooking or mixing the etomidate at the time of the raid. Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Police Chief Senior Commissioner Wisnu Wardana was quoted by state news agency Antara as saying: “We arrested a foreign national from Singapore and seized thousands of pieces of evidence during the operation.”
The operation followed the interception by airport customs officers of 2.2 kg of etomidate that had allegedly been smuggled from Malaysia. Wardana said the seized material was enough to produce up to 2,000 drug cartridges. Police and customs authorities launched a joint operation to dismantle the alleged drug syndicate behind the smuggling, which led them to the rented house in Pantai Indah Kapuk.
The head of the Soekarno-Hatta Police Narcotics Unit, Michael Kharisma Tandayu, said: “The property had been rented by another Singaporean who had recruited the suspect. He told IDN Times that the suspect had arrived in Indonesia on 13th July. Antara reported that the home-based operation had only begun producing the drug cartridges one day before the raid.”
Investigations are continuing to establish exactly how many vape cartridges were produced and how long the operation had been running. The suspect and the seized evidence have been transferred to airport police for further investigation, and the house in Pantai Indah Kapuk has been sealed off.
Etomidate is a powerful anaesthetic agent. When used in unregulated vapes such as Kpods, it has been associated with significant health risks and has prompted stricter controls in Singapore and the wider region. The substance has also been the focus of multiple enforcement actions targeting smuggling and production networks.
CNA and The Straits Times have contacted Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more information on the arrest and the welfare of the Singaporean national.
The case highlights the cross-border nature of etomidate vape production and distribution networks operating in Southeast Asia. Indonesian authorities continue to work with international partners to disrupt such operations, which allegedly supply potentially harmful products that are often marketed through informal channels.
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