10 foreigners arrested in Etomidate-laced vape operation
VOV.VN - Ho Chi Minh City Police have dismantled a drug ring that produced and distributed pod chill (electronic cigarettes) containing Etomidate, arresting 10 foreign nationals allegedly involved in the operation.
The city's Drug Crime Investigation Division said on July 31 that the network was led by Hoo Jia How (born 1996, a Malaysian national) and Melvin Tan Junjie (born 1996, a Singaporean national). The investigation was launched in early July following intelligence on the group's alleged trafficking of Etomidate.
Police on July 17 arrested Melvin, Hoo and Oh Jang Fong (born 1996, a Singaporean national), seizing 1,331 Etomidate-filled vape pods and 140 ml of Etomidate liquid used to refill them.
Investigators said Fong supplied the Etomidate liquid, while Melvin and Hoo injected it into empty vape pods at a rented house in an alley off Cong Quynh Street in Cau Ong Lanh Ward before selling the products to Vietnamese and foreign customers. Vietnamese buyers allegedly resold the pods or used them and organised drug use.
Expanding the investigation, police uncovered two additional distribution rings allegedly operated by Le Ton Nu Diem Thuy (born 2003) and Tran Dinh Canh (born 2002).
So far, investigators have questioned 76 people and filed charges against 65, including four Singaporeans, four Malaysians and two Taiwanese. Nearly 2,000 Etomidate-filled vape pods and 140 ml of Etomidate liquid have been seized.
The investigation is continuing as police work to identify and apprehend other individuals believed to be involved.
Two sentenced to death in 143kg cross-border drug trafficking ring
VOV.VN - A court in Ho Chi Minh City has sentenced two men to death and handed down life and prison terms to seven others in a major transnational drug trafficking case involving more than 143 kilograms of narcotics.
