3 Chinese men held for turning Pattaya house into Pod K production
Police arrested three Chinese nationals after uncovering a luxury house in Pattaya, Chon buri, being used to produce ketamine-laced e-cigarettes, locally known as Pod K.
Officers from the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD) and Chon Buri Provincial Police raided the property in Bang Lamung district at around 4.30pm yesterday, May 11. The operation followed reports that a group of Chinese nationals had been producing Pod K products in the area.
The three suspects, whose names have not been released, were arrested inside the two-storey house. According to police, the property was heavily secured with a two-metre-high concrete wall and an electric fence installed above it.
Investigators found the second floor divided into several small rooms that had been converted into makeshift laboratories. Police discovered ketamine-infused vape liquid, e-cigarettes, chemical containers, and equipment believed to be used in the production process.
Residents living nearby told officers they believed the house was abandoned because they had never seen anyone entering or leaving the property. They added that the lights inside the house were always switched off.
Some locals initially thought police were responding to a murder investigation and were surprised to learn the property was operating as a drug production facility.
According to ThaiRath, investigators noted similarities between the equipment and chemical storage methods found at the house and those discovered during a previous raid in Nong Pla Lai community in February.
Police are now investigating whether the two operations are connected and if the same criminal network was responsible for producing the illegal vape products. The investigation is continuing, and police have not yet confirmed additional arrests or charges linked to the case.
Pod K cases involving foreign nationals have surfaced several times in Thailand this year. In January, police arrested a Chinese man at a condominium in Pattaya for selling ketamine-infused e-cigarettes. Officers seized 100 bottles of the substance during the operation.
In another case in Bangkok in December last year, police arrested a Chinese suspect at a Pod K production site and confiscated 4,945 e-cigarette units along with equipment and ingredients believed to be used in manufacturing the products.
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