Thailand seizes over 10,000 illegal vapes
Bangkok (VNA) – Thai authorities have arrested
eight suspects and confiscated more than 10,000 e-cigarette and
vaping devices in a raid at Number One market near Ramkhamhaeng University (Bangna
Campus) in Bangkok.
The campaign, dubbed “Vape Operation”, is a collaboration
between the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) and the Royal Thai
Police to crack down on sellers of e-cigarette and vaping devices near schools
and 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 well
known for e-cigarette and vaping devices, prompting the OCPB to launch the
campaign to stop the selling of illegal items to students and underaged
persons.
Investigators found e-cigarette and vaping devices being
sold at 14 stalls in the market and arrested eight sellers, as well as confiscated
nearly 6,000 vaping items found in these shops. They also tracked down the
distribution network of these sellers to a factory in Din Daeng district and
seized 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 adolescents
as 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 behaviours
of their children, and report any unusual activities to the OCBD at hotline
1166, 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 could
face up to three years in prison and/or a 60,000 THB fine, while smugglers
could face up to 10 years in prison and/or up to 500,000 THB in fines./.