A 34-year-old man was arrested, and a 25-year-old woman is under investigation following a series of anti-vape raids at two homes in Singapore. The raids, carried out by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on July 22, were prompted by a tip-off from a courier company. An employee discovered e-vaporizer pods in a parcel that had been falsely declared as food items, after the contents were accidentally exposed by the recipient.
During a raid at a residence on Grange Road, officers found 43 e-vaporizer pods, 13 vapes, and other related components, along with drug paraphernalia. The 25-year-old woman, who was identified as the seller, was found in an unresponsive state. In a separate raid at the 34-year-old man’s home on Tampines Street 33, officers discovered 0.6g of Ice, drug paraphernalia, over 80 heat-not-burn tobacco products, one e-vaporizer, and four vape pods containing etomidate.
Both individuals are now being investigated by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for vape offenses and by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) for suspected drug offenses.
Etomidate, a powerful substance found in some of the seized vapes, is set to be classified as a Class C controlled drug. Offenders caught using vapes laced with etomidate may be subject to mandatory supervision and rehabilitation. This is in addition to the existing severe penalties for the sale, distribution, and import of vapes, which can include jail sentences of up to 20 years and caning for those involved in selling, distributing, or importing these devices with harmful substances.
In a recent speech, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that authorities would take “much tougher” actions against vaping, treating it as a “drug issue” with “much stiffer” penalties. The HSA has urged members of the public to report any information on illegal vape activities to help in the fight against vaping.
