BPOM Bali Seizes Thousands of Illegal Medicines, 15 Cases Uncovered via Courier Services

BPOM Denpasar, Bali, has stated that the abuse of Obat-Obat Tertentu (OOT) is a serious threat to the younger generation. In the disclosure of illegal medicine circulation cases in Denpasar on Wednesday (20 May 2026), BPOM revealed 15 cases with a distribution pattern dominated by courier shipments since 2023.

Deputy for Enforcement at BPOM RI, Tubagus Ade Hidayat, emphasised that eradicating OOT is not only about law enforcement but also protecting the public from health and mental health damage. ‘The misuse of certain medicines can cause health and mental disorders. When someone experiences mental disorders due to misuse of medicines, the impact can spread across various social sectors, including an increased potential for criminal acts and disturbances of public order,’ Hidayat said.

According to him, those medicines have medical functions or pharmaceutical preparations and are used for healing. However, misuse outside medical supervision is dangerous because they act directly on the central nervous system. ‘These medicines act on the central nervous system, so handling must be serious and comprehensive. The approach cannot be done alone; it must involve pre-emptive, preventive, law enforcement, and rehabilitation stages,’ he said.

In the disclosure, BPOM together with Korwas PPNS Bali Regional Police seized about 173,000 tablets of illegal OOT with an estimated economic value of Rp200 million. The suspects were found producing medicines at home and moving locations to avoid supervision. To prevent disclosure, they forged official BPOM labels.

Hidayat stressed that the main aim of the operation is not merely to arrest the perpetrators but to protect the public from the dangers of illegal medicines misuse. ‘The focus of law enforcement in this case is not just the monetary value but how many people can be saved from the impact of misuse of medicines,’ he asserted.

Head of the Denpasar POM office, Made Ery Bahari Hantana, said distribution of illegal medicines was mostly conducted through parcel shipments to areas prone to OOT abuse. ‘There are 15 cases from 2023 to the present. Most are in Badung and Denpasar, because shipments go to areas where there is significant OOT abuse,’ he said.

BPOM also acknowledged that the perpetrators’ modus operandi continues to evolve. In fact, the production location is always shifting to be harder to trace by law enforcement. ‘As for the production location, because they are producing illegal goods, they will continually move. So it’s not only the production but also some of the raw materials that we have secured,’ Made Ery added.

He added that BPOM is strengthening cooperation with courier services and the community to narrow the space for illegal medicine circulation. ‘If there is information because our eyes and ears are limited, involving the participation of the community will hopefully sharpen our monitoring and enable us to act more swiftly,’ he stated.

For their actions, the suspects are charged under Articles 435 and 436 of the Health Law, with a maximum penalty of 12 years’ imprisonment. (H-3)