Thai authorities have arrested eight suspects and confiscated more than 10,000 e-cigarette and vaping devices in a raid near Ramkhamhaeng University in Bangkok (Photo: The Nation) Bangkok (VNA) – Thai authorities have arrestedeight suspects and confiscated more than 10,000 e-cigarette andvaping devices in a raid at Number One market near Ramkhamhaeng University (BangnaCampus) in Bangkok.
The campaign, dubbed “Vape Operation”, is a collaborationbetween the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) and the Royal ThaiPolice to crack down on sellers of e-cigarette and vaping devices near schoolsand colleges in the capital, said Puangpetch Chunla-ead, Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, who led the operation, on March 6.
The market, which is surrounded by student dorms, is wellknown for e-cigarette and vaping devices, prompting the OCPB to launch thecampaign to stop the selling of illegal items to students and underagedpersons.
Investigators found e-cigarette and vaping devices beingsold at 14 stalls in the market and arrested eight sellers, as well as confiscatednearly 6,000 vaping items found in these shops. They also tracked down thedistribution network of these sellers to a factory in Din Daeng district andseized some 4,000 items. The total value of the confiscated items is estimated at over 3 million THB (about 84,000 USD).
Puangpetch underlined the threat of e-cigarettes on Thai adolescentsas these devices can be easily purchased from shops near schools and colleges,while some students even buy them in bulk to resale to their friends. The minister urged parents to closely monitor the behavioursof their children, and report any unusual activities to the OCBD at hotline1166, website OCPB.go.th, or the Traffy Fondue application.
Thailand banned imports of e-cigarettes and vaping devices,including baraku and electronic baraku smoking devices in 2014. Sellers couldface up to three years in prison and/or a 60,000 THB fine, while smugglerscould face up to 10 years in prison and/or up to 500,000 THB in fines./.
