Singapore intensifies crackdown on vapes; young suspected Kpod peddlers nabbed in Bishan, Yishun

The Star

3 days ago

SINGAPORE: The ongoing crackdown on e-vapourisers turned dramatic on July 10 when an enforcement officer dived into a moving car to stop a suspected peddler from escaping.
The scene played out in Bishan Street 13, when the alleged pusher tried to flee during an operation by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).
As HSA officers moved in to surround the car, the driver revved his engine and tried to speed away.
One officer opened the left front door and jumped in, which forced the driver to stop about 50m away.
The Straits Times, posing as an interested buyer online, had contacted four sellers who were offering e-vapourisers and etomidate-laced pods, or Kpods, on social media platforms including Telegram.
Kpods are vapes that contain vape juice mixed with potent ingredients such as etomidate or ketamine.
Etomidate is currently classified as a poison under the Poisons Act. This means a licence is required for its importation or sale. Under the Act, those found in possession of or using pods containing etomidate can be jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$10,000 (US$7,808), or both.
The loss of control - including seizures and psychotic episodes - have unsurprisingly led to the vapes acquiring names such as Space Oil and Zombie Vape.
One seller responded within minutes, saying he could sell two Kpods for S$140, including delivery.
After a brief exchange of messages, the peddler agreed to meet in Bishan, saying a 'delivery man' would drop off the item.
At 3.45pm, a grey car arrived at the location and an HSA officer posing as the buyer approached it.
The officer identified himself as an enforcement agent and the man panicked and tried to make a getaway. That was when another officer jumped into the car as it accelerated.
After the man was detained, officers searched his car and found several white envelopes containing Kpods that had been marked for delivery.
Officers also found multiple folders, each named with different brands of Kpods such as 'Zombie' or 'USDT'.
In total, HSA officers seized 28 vape devices and 814 vape pods from the man's car. ST understands the majority of the pods may be Kpods.
The haul was larger than anticipated. The suspect, who is 27 years old, claimed he was just the delivery man.
Officers later raided his residence nearby and found a small stash of vapes and related components in his bedroom.
He was the second young peddler to be caught within a matter of weeks.
Acting on a tip-off, HSA raided a residence in the vicinity of Yishun Avenue 6 on June 23, where they caught a 22-year-old woman.
Three of her friends – two women, aged 22 and 33, and a 32-year-old man – were also in the flat.
The four suspects appeared disoriented and groggy when HSA officers checked them.
The suspects later claimed to have inhaled Kpods just before the raid.
HSA officers found 219 vapes and related components. A large proportion of the products is believed to be Kpods.
ST, which accompanied the enforcement officers on the raid, understands the four are colleagues from a nightclub.
The 22-year-old woman, who works as a hostess, had allegedly sold Kpods on social media. Her customers included her colleagues.
The operation was one of many HSA has been conducting to tackle the vaping scourge, which has become more insidious with the influx of drug-laced vapes.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime warned in a report in May of the emergence of etomidate abuse in East Asia and South-East Asia, including Singapore.
The number of cases involving etomidate-laced vape pods has nearly tripled in Singapore to 28 in the first six months of 2025, compared with ten in the whole of 2024.
Given the emergence of laced e-vapourisers, the Government is considering if current enforcement laws should be enhanced, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Home Affairs told ST.
HSA conducts multiple operations a week targeting trade in e-vapourisers.
The agency also works closely with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to deter and detect attempts at smuggling vaping products through Singapore's borders.
Jessica Teo, assistant group director of HSA's Vigilance, Compliance and Enforcement Cluster, said vaping has to be tackled through a multi-agency approach that covers legislation, enforcement and public education.
'We have intensified operations against both physical and online distribution networks, strengthened border controls with ICA, and increased enforcement presence in public spaces where vaping is prevalent,' said Teo on HSA's efforts.
From January 2024 to March 2025, more than 20,800 travellers were checked at air, land and sea checkpoints during joint operations between HSA and ICA.
HSA said 101 people were caught with e-vapourisers during these operations.
It added: 'Additionally, ICA detected e-vapouriser smuggling cases involving 91 smugglers and referred them to HSA.'
In January, the agency raided an industrial unit and seized more than 8,700 vapes and components worth around S$137,000, including etomidate-laced devices.
Between January 2024 and March 2025, MOH and HSA said more than S$41 million worth of vapes and related components was seized.
More than 14,600 people were caught by the authorities in 2024, compared with just 4,916 in 2022.
Those arrested have also included major distributors. One of the largest hauls to date occurred in March 2024.
Two men transporting two packages of vapes were stopped at a roadblock near St Andrew's Road. This led the authorities to raid two warehouse units, which held more than 400,000 vapes worth more than S$6 million.
The previous record haul was in 2021, when HSA seized more than S$2.2 million worth of e-vapourisers and related components from a storage facility in Boon Lay.
The S$6 million raid was in the news recently when two men were charged in court over trying to break into a warehouse HSA uses to store evidence, including confiscated vapes, in an attempt to steal the seized vapes.
The men were allegedly working for one Chua Wee Ming, who had imported vapes and related components into Singapore for distribution.
As part of efforts to tackle vaping, HSA also collaborates with e-commerce and social media platforms to take down e-vapouriser online listings.
It said: 'More than 6,800 listings of e-vapourisers and related components online were removed from January 2024 to March 2025. This was more than double the 3,100 listings removed in 2023.'
HSA added that 15 individuals were also identified and fined for posting photographs or videos of e-vapourisers on their social media accounts in the same period. - The Straits Times/ANN