Puff and cuff: Pattaya Teen’s e-cigarette hustle goes up in smoke
A 19 year old girl’s online side hustle took a dramatic turn when she was caught red-handed selling illegal e-cigarettes in a police sting operation in Pattaya.
Bang Lamung district chief Patcharapath Sritanyanon ordered a Special Operations Unit to take down online sellers of illegal vapes. Police set up a sting after discovering the young suspect had been advertising e-cigarettes for sale on Facebook.
Undercover officers contacted the seller and arranged a meeting in Soi Boonsampan 11. When she arrived to complete the sale, she unknowingly handed over seven e-cigarettes to an undercover agent. Before she could react, officers revealed their identities and arrested her on the spot.
The suspect reportedly admitted to selling the banned products, revealing that she bought them from a supplier and resold them on Facebook for 350 baht each.
She was taken to Nongprue Police Station to face legal action, while police continue their crackdown on the illegal e-cigarette trade in Pattaya, reported The Pattaya News.
In similar news, police in Bangkok arrested a suspect for allegedly producing and selling “zombie” e-cigarettes laced with anaesthetic drugs. The illicit vapes, containing etomidate, were mixed locally using substances sourced from China before being sold to nightlife tourists.
On March 11, Police Major General Pattanasak Bupphasuwan led a raid on a condominium in Ram Inthra, uncovering an illegal e-cigarette operation. Officers arrested 39 year old Kanchai, seizing over 300 drug-laced vape cartridges, 12 bottles of etomidate, and various production tools.
Maj. Gen. Pattanasak warned that the tainted e-cigarettes, popular among partygoers, pose serious health risks and are part of an escalating dangerous trend in Thailand’s nightlife scene.
The Thai government is intensifying its crackdown on illegal e-cigarettes, targeting smuggling, online sales, and domestic distribution.
At a high-level meeting on March 6 at Government House, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office Jiraporn Sindhuphrai announced tougher enforcement and long-term solutions. She revealed that between February 1 and 26, authorities arrested 666 people and seized over 400,000 e-cigarette products worth 41 million baht.
Jiraporn ordered agencies, including the Customs Department and Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, to submit weekly reports to the prime minister. A public press conference will soon be held to update citizens on the crackdown’s progress.
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