inp.polri.go.id - Medan. The Medan Sub-regional City Police Narcotics Unit has dismantled a drug trafficking network involving vape pods, also known as vibrating pods, originating from Malaysia in Medan.
In the raid, conducted on Wednesday (9/16/2026), police arrested three perpetrators and confiscated 295 vibrating pods. The drugs were stored in a discreet manner, from hidden inside soap boxes to hidden inside wall clocks.
The case began with the arrest of SAB (21), a resident of Gayo Lues Regency, Aceh, at an apartment on Listrik Road, Medan. SAB was suspected of attempting to conduct a drug transaction and was known to be the distributor of the vibrating pods.
To deceive officers and disguise the illegal goods, SAB reportedly always slipped the vibrating pods into the soap boxes during each transaction.
From the arrest, police confiscated five vibrating pods: four Yakuza-brand vibrating pods and one Batman-brand vibrating pod.
Medan Sub-regional City Police Narcotics Unit Head, Superintendent Rafli Yusuf Nugraha, said that police then conducted further investigations and successfully identified SAB's supplier.
"After arresting SAB, we then conducted further investigations and successfully arrested his supplier. We apprehended a couple, MAR (25) and PAS (27), in a boarding house on Kasuari Road, Medan," said Rafli on Wednesday morning (9/23/2026).
When MAR and PAS were arrested, both initially denied possessing drugs. Officers then searched almost every corner in the room, but initially did not find the items they were looking for.
The officers' suspicions then focused on a wall clock placed on top of the dresser. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the clock's interior was used to conceal five vibration pods.
"When we arrested MAR and PAS, they both offered some defense. However, thanks to the team's astuteness, we managed to find additional drug evidence stored inside a wall clock," explained Rafli.
The police continued their investigation to uncover other storage locations. Officers then visited MAR's family home in the Setia Budi area of Medan. The house was suspected of being used as a drug storage facility.
In a bedroom closet, police found 285 additional vibration pods. This brings the total evidence seized from the three perpetrators to 295 vibration pods.
"After we arrested MAR and PAS, we then conducted a search. We found 285 additional vibration pods stored in a house in the Setia Budi area of Medan, bringing the total number of vibration pods we confiscated from the three perpetrators to 295," added Rafli.
Rafli explained that the three perpetrators had only been running the business for about two months. Their activities reportedly began with drug use, then progressed to small-scale sales and eventually large-scale sales.
In the network, MAR is said to have been in contact with someone in Malaysia through a special application. Police are currently pursuing the alleged controller in Malaysia.
"The three perpetrators are part of a Malaysian-Indonesian drug network. MAR, the boss of the two perpetrators, including his girlfriend, was in direct contact with the controller in Malaysia through a special application. We are currently pursuing this controller," said Rafli.
The police urges the public, especially young people, not to be tempted to try or become involved in drug trafficking. The police emphasized that they will continue to take action against all forms of drug trafficking.
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