The Jakarta Post
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsBatam nabs Singaporean over smuggling drug-filled vape cartridges
A Singaporean woman has been detained by Batam authorities for allegedly smuggling vape cartridges filled with class II drug etomidate, after evading the neighboring country's heightened security measures to arrive by ferry in the Riau Islands.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Set as preferred source
WSB (center), a Singaporean national who has been detained for attempting to smuggle 40 vape cartridges containing the illicit drug etomidate, is presented alongside 14 other narcotics suspects on Sept. 17, 2026, at the Batam, Rempang and Galang (Barelang) Police headquarters in Batam, the Riau Islands. (JP/Fadli)
L
aw enforcement authorities in Batam, the Riau Islands, have detained a Singaporean woman for attempting to smuggle 40 vape cartridges containing etomidate, a nonbarbiturate hypnotic and class II narcotic in Indonesia, known as “kpods” in the neighboring island country.
Officers from the Batam Customs and Excise Office detained the woman, identified by her initials WSB, when she arrived at 10 p.m. on Sept. 3 at the city’s Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal in Batu Ampar district aboard the last ferry from Singapore.
The Batam Customs Office’s enforcement and investigation head, Lucky Tamo, said officers became suspicious about WSB due to her awkward gait.
“Upon further investigation, we found the [illicit goods] concealed in her crotch,” Lucky said on Thursday, during a public event at the Batam, Rempang and Galang (Barelang) Police headquarters in Batam to destroy seized drugs .
“Laboratory testing confirmed the liquid contained drugs.”
The office’s compliance and information services head Setiawan Rosyidi confirmed the contraband was strapped to WSB’s crotch area.
“The suspect managed to evade surveillance from Singaporean security officers at HarbourFront Centre in Singapore amid [that country’s] heightened commitment and a massive campaign against the use and distribution of vape,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
