JAKARTA: (Bernama) Indonesia’s police chief has raised the alarm over a worrying new trend in drug abuse involving ketamine and etomidate, two substances yet to be regulated under the country’s narcotics law.
Ketamine and etomidate are medically approved anaesthetic drugs but pose serious harm if misused due to their impact on the nervous and respiratory systems.
National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo said users were found inhaling ketamine through the nose and combining etomidate with vape liquid for consumption through pods.
"These hazardous substances are not yet covered by existing regulations, so users cannot be prosecuted,” he said during an event here, where seized illegal drugs were destroyed on Wednesday (Oct 29), and which was witnessed by President Prabowo Subianto.
He said police, as part of the National Committee on Narcotics, Psychotropics, and Precursors, were working with the Ministry of Health’s Drug Access Working Group to classify ketamine and etomidate as controlled substances.
"The aim is to include them in the revised Narcotics Law and, in the short term, in an annexe to a Health Ministry regulation on narcotics classification,” Sigit said, adding that this would enable enforcement action and prosecution once the substances are officially listed.
At the event, a total of 214.84 tonnes of narcotics worth an estimated Rp29.37 trillion (US$1.8 billion) were destroyed, marking the largest drug disposal in recent years.
The drugs were seized during operations in the first year of Prabowo’s administration. The president personally oversaw the event to demonstrate the government’s commitment to combating narcotics.
Sigit said police recorded 49,306 drug-related cases and arrested 65,572 suspects between Oct 2024 and Oct 2025.
The confiscated drugs included marijuana, crystal meth, ecstasy, cocaine, and psychotropic pills. He said the seizure had prevented potential abuse by millions of people and turned 118 drug-prone areas into drug-free villages. - Bernama
