KUALA LUMPUR: Over 700kg of vape products and electronic cigarettes (e-cig) suspected to contain prohibited substances have been seized over the last three years, says the Home Ministry.
The Ministry said the products seized are believed to have contained contraband such as synthetic drugs, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), mushroom extract and other psychoactive substances.
It said that a total of 400 such cases were recorded from 2023 until June 2026, which had resulted in 585 individuals arrested and 718.43kg of vape and e-cig products confiscated.
The Ministry noted that 2023 saw the largest quantity of seizures with 471.50kg seized and 66 arrests from 32 cases.
This decreased in 2024 to 62.68kg seized involving 114 arrests (92 cases) but increased again in 2025 with 115.22kg seized in 138 arrests (108 cases).
Meanwhile as of May 2026, it said 69.03kg of such products have been seized with 267 arrests (168 cases) so far
“The sale of these products is targeted at youths and students, sales of which were detected online, on social media, and via courier services.
“The Ministry remains serious in monitoring this trend and will continue to take a strict and comprehensive approach to ensure the threat of misuse of dangerous vape can be eradicated,” it said in a parliamentary written reply dated Wednesday (July 8).
The Ministry was responding to a question from Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN-Masjid Tanah) on the total number of vape seizures containing prohibited substances so far and measures being taken to curb the sale of such products.
To this, the Ministry said it planned to intensify its special integrated operations together with related enforcement agencies to curb dangerous vape syndicate hotpots.
“We also plan to strengthen our intelligence and cyber monitoring capabilities towards the activity of selling vape containing prohibited substances on social media, communication applications and e‑commerce platforms.
“The Ministry will also push to increase the capacity of its forensic analysis and laboratories to better identify the content of prohibited substances used in vape liquids,” it added.
