Pathum Thani police seize e-cigarettes worth 36 million baht
Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) officers raided two large warehouses storing e-cigarettes in Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani, with a seized value exceeding 36 million baht. This operation followed a previous raid in Bang Kapi, Bangkok, in March.
At 5pm yesterday, August 9, Assistant Police Commissioner Nirandon Lueamsri, along with the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) Division 2 and other officials from the military and local health departments, announced the results of the operation. Two significant e-cigarette warehouses in Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani, were targeted.
Nirandon stated that officers from the CCIB Division 1, in collaboration with the military, raided two major storage sites. The first site was a rented warehouse located in Khlong Si subdistrict, Khlong Luang district, Pathum Thani. From this location, 127,150 disposable e-cigarettes valued at 25.4 million baht were seized.
The second site, located in Khlong Song subdistrict, Khlong Luang district, yielded an additional 56,200 disposable e-cigarettes worth 11.2 million baht. The warehouse manager, 32 year old Nopphorn was arrested along with five other workers.
This raid stemmed from an earlier investigation by CCIB Division 1 in March, which uncovered significant e-cigarette sales through a Facebook page which was tracked to Khlong Chan subdistrict, Bang Kapi district, Bangkok.
The investigation revealed that two large e-cigarette storage sites were located in Khlong Luang. Armed with search warrants from the Thanyaburi Provincial Court, officers proceeded to inspect these sites.
The operation led to the seizure of a total of 183,350 e-cigarettes valued at over 36 million baht. The suspects, along with the confiscated items, were handed over to investigators at Khlong Luang Police Station.
They face charges under the Customs Act B.E. 2560 (2017) for possession or receiving e-cigarettes, which includes penalties for concealing, distributing, or facilitating the sale, purchase, or receipt of such items.
The penalties could include imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of four times the value of the goods inclusive of duty, or both, reported KhaoSod.
