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Tag: BNN

  • Indonesia Stepping Up Vape Surveillance

    Indonesia Stepping Up Vape Surveillance

    Indonesia’s National Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) is set to gain oversight of vape distribution nationwide, working alongside the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) following reports of drug-laced e-liquids in the market. BPOM said it will develop technical regulations under the country’s recent health laws to determine which vape products are permitted and which will face sanctions, with decisions guided by scientific assessment.

    While BNN has proposed a total ban on e-cigarettes to combat narcotics risks, BPOM signaled a more targeted approach, focusing on stricter control of illegal products lacking excise stamps rather than blanket prohibition. Authorities noted that illicit vapes are the primary source of drug contamination.

  • Indonesia Busts Lab Filling Vapes with Narcotics

    Indonesia Busts Lab Filling Vapes with Narcotics

    Indonesia’s National Narcotics Agency (BNN) detained two Malaysian men suspected of producing e-cigarette liquids containing etomidate, an intravenous anesthetic drug, at an apartment in South Jakarta. The arrests were made after investigators identified the location as an illegal laboratory used to process the drug for use in vape products.

    BNN Director General of Enforcement Aldrin Hutabarat said intelligence showed one suspect entered Jakarta carrying around 3,000 empty vape cartridges before heading to the apartment. During the raid, authorities found the two men actively mixing etomidate liquid for filling into cartridges and seized the drug, vape components, cash, and mobile phones. One suspect reportedly admitted being paid Rp 6.4 million ($377) to travel to Indonesia.

  • Indonesia Cracking Down on Ketamine-Laced Vapes

    Indonesia Cracking Down on Ketamine-Laced Vapes

    Indonesia’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has vowed strict enforcement against electronic cigarette products found to contain ketamine, a powerful anesthetic increasingly misused as a recreational drug. BPOM Chief Taruna Ikrar said the agency’s mandate focuses on harmful substances, not just the form of the product.

    “The Agency also has the authority to take action, not because of the cigarette or vape, but because it contains harmful substances,” he told reporters in Jakarta.

    The move follows seizures by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), which recently intercepted counterfeit ketamine, synthetic marijuana, and vape pods allegedly laced with narcotics. Authorities warned that psychoactive substances disguised in vape products are spreading rapidly in Indonesia.

    BPOM confirmed that if ketamine is detected, it can immediately launch legal proceedings, while BNN continues testing vape brands circulating in the market.