SINGAPORE: A Malaysian man was arrested after more than 890 vapes and 6,700 related components were found in his van at Woodlands Checkpoint on Wednesday (Aug 27).
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a Facebook post on Aug 28 that its officers had, at about 11am on Aug 27, profiled a Malaysia-registered van transporting air-conditioning equipment and servicing parts for further checks.
Officers detected vapes hidden in boxes within the vehicle during initial checks, and then found more vapes and parts hidden inside an air-conditioning unit and its parts, as well as in various compartments of the vehicle.
The police K-9 unit was activated to assist with the search.
The vapes and related parts were seized, and the driver was arrested.
The case has been referred to the Health Sciences Authority for further investigation.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had on Aug 17 said in his National Day Rally speech that the Government will take much tougher action against vaping and treat it as a drug issue with stiffer penalties to be imposed.
ICA had earlier said that it has stepped up checks to deter any attempts to smuggle vapes into Singapore.
Between Aug 18 and 22, 184 vape cases and more than 850 vapes and related components were seized at Singapore’s air, land and sea checkpoints.
Around 90,000 vapes and related products were seized at the checkpoints between April and June after 19 large-scale vape smuggling cases were detected.
Anti-vaping checks have also been conducted near schools, as well as in nightspots, the central business district, military camps and Home Team training schools recently.
From Sept 1, etomidate, which is increasingly being abused through vape pods (Kpods) and devices, will be listed as an illegal drug. It will be classified under the Misuse of Drugs Act as a Class C drug. - The Straits Times/ANN
