Thai Police Arrest Five Vietnamese Nationals Over Seizure of Etomidate-Infused Vape Pods in Bangkok

Key summary

Immigration Bureau police arrested five Vietnamese nationals in the Pratunam area of Bangkok on October 24 after an undercover operation targeting a suspect nicknamed Suea. Officers seized 3,200 K-pods that tested positive for etomidate, a Category 2 psychotropic substance and fast-acting anaesthetic used in hospitals. The suspects were charged with producing, importing, exporting, selling or possessing the substance without permission, facing penalties of one to 15 years in prison and fines between 100,000 and 1.5 million baht. Police found equipment for mixing vape liquid and chemical precursors at the suspects' hotel room in Pratunam. The Immigration Bureau warned that etomidate-infused vapes, known as 'zombie vapes', can cause serious harm to the brain and body, and urged residents, business owners, hotel operators and landlords to report suspicious activity via hotline 1178.