Grill and illegal thrills: Cops smoke out e-cig and kratom juice joint
Investigation Division 1 police conducted a raid on a dual-purpose establishment masquerading as a grill restaurant while illicitly selling e-cigarettes and bottled kratom juice.
The operation resulted in the arrest of four workers, both Thai and Lao nationals, who confessed to merely overseeing operations for a daily wage of 600 baht (US$18).
The raid took place at 3pm yesterday, March 4, in a house located in Wat Chalermphrakiat alley, Bang Si Mueang subdistrict, Mueang district, Nonthaburi province, following intelligence reports indicating the site was a production hub for kratom juice and illegal e-cigarette sales to local youths.
Led by Police Major General Worachat Saenkham, Commander of the Investigation Division 1, and Police Colonel Poonsuk Techaprasertporn, Superintendent of Division 1, the search warrant (168/2568) was executed at the premises. The house, a two-storey building, featured a front yard converted into a grilled mala shop.
Sittisak Champathip, a 34 year old Thai national, identified himself as the caretaker, while three Laotian workers were also present.
During the search, police uncovered 310 bottles of kratom juice stored in a refrigerator and large iceboxes, along with 614 bottles of liquid cough syrup used to mix with kratom and 54 empty cough syrup bottles. Additionally, 1,037 kratom boiling devices were seized.
Inside the house, 1,095 e-cigarettes and e-cigarette liquids were discovered. The area adjacent to the house served as a boiling and packaging site for kratom juice, equipped with stoves and kratom leaf boiling pots, alongside numerous plastic bottles for packaging.
Sittisak admitted his role was limited to overseeing operations and selling kratom juice to customers, asserting that the e-cigarettes were stored by the owner and not for sale. He claimed to have worked there for about a year, receiving a daily wage of 600 baht (US$18), reported KhaoSod.
Two Laotian workers were responsible for boiling and packaging kratom juice, earning 300 baht (US$9) per day, while the third Laotian worker served as a housekeeper. All seized items and the suspects have been handed over to the Bang Si Mueang Police Station for further legal proceedings.
Latest Thailand News
