FIVE Malaysians have been arrested in Jakarta after Indonesian authorities allegedly found five kilogrammes of suspected etomidate hidden inside their shoes, leading to the discovery of a clandestine laboratory producing etomidate vape pods.
The suspects were detained by officers from Indonesia's Customs and Excise Directorate at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Friday after arriving from Kuala Lumpur on AirAsia flight QZ201.
Indonesian Police Narcotics Crime Directorate chief Inspector-General Eko Hadi Santoso said the suspects were inspected after Customs and Excise officers became suspicious of their movements.
He said each suspect was found carrying two packets of white powder concealed inside the insoles of their shoes.
“Each person was carrying two packets of powder suspected to be etomidate, weighing about 500 grammes each.
“In total, 10 packets weighing five kilogrammes were found,” he said in a statement carried by CNN Indonesia on Monday.
The five Malaysian suspects were identified as Mohamad Zulhusni, 49; Nur Aisyah, 25; Emmanuel, 24; Prince Alvin Robin, 22; and Muhammad Adam, 21.
Investigators said the five were allegedly controlled by an individual using the alias “Madam” through Telegram.
After arriving in Jakarta, they were allegedly instructed to travel to a hotel in Harmoni, Central Jakarta, where the shoes containing the suspected etomidate were placed inside a red suitcase.
The suitcase was then allegedly to be handed over to 25-year-old Chinese national Wu Song in the hotel lobby.
A joint Bareskrim POLRI team subsequently arrested Wu and found a key to an apartment at Mediterania Marina Residence, North Jakarta, during a search.
A follow-up search of the apartment led to the discovery of a clandestine laboratory believed to have been used to produce vape pods containing etomidate.
Police seized various raw materials and equipment for assembling the vape pods, including 16 five-litre jerry cans of flavouring liquid, five one-litre bottles of liquid, 21,000 empty vape pods and 15,000 silicone pod caps.
They also seized 800 plastic tubes and 4,715 pod containers in various flavours.
Eko said Wu was believed to have been in Indonesia since September and had been living at the apartment.
He allegedly admitted receiving instructions through a communication group on the Signal application to record stocks of the materials.
Police estimated the value of the seized raw materials and vape assembly equipment at Rp127.5 billion (about RM33.8 million).
The operation was estimated to have prevented the distribution of about 42,500 pods and potentially protected about 21,250 people from narcotics abuse, according to police.
All the suspects are being investigated under Indonesian narcotics laws, including Article 119(2) and Article 132(1) of Law No. 35 of 2009 on Narcotics. - September 29, 2026
