PATHUM THANI: Authorities seized alcohol gel and face masks worth over 50 million from during a raid on five warehouses in Muang district on Friday.
A team of police and officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), armed with search warrants issued by the Thanyaburi provincial court, searched the five two stores warehouses on Phahon Yothin Soi 76 in tambon Bang Phoon.
They were responding to a tip-off that the warehouses were being used as storage sites for face masks and medical equipment.
The search found goods in two of the warehouses: 48,000 face masks and 47,000 bottles of alcohol gel in one, and 70,000 bottles of alcohol gel in the other. The products had a face value of at least 50 million baht.
A 40-year-old Chinese man whose name was withheld admitted to being the owner of the two warehouses.
The operation began after police investigators traced websites offering face masks and alcohol gel for sale, said Pol Maj Gen Sayam Boonsom, commander of the Royal Police Guards 904. The warehouses in question were being used to store the products advertised.
Photo by Pongpat Wongyala
During the interrogation, the Chinese man said his company had been registered and obtained permission to sell cosmetics. He had ordered alcohol gel and face masks from the Sue Pa area two weeks ago.
Police initially pressed charges of violating the Medical Device Act, the Cosmetics Act and the Labelling Act against the businessman.
Officials from the Department of Internal Trade and the FDA will examine the seized products to determine if any of them are substandard, said Pol Maj Gen Torsak Sukvimol, deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB).
They will also look into whether the products were legally imported as initial checks found the masks were imported from China and Vietnam.
Authorities found that the alcohol gel had been shipped with no labels, but the firm that owned the warehouses subsequently labelled the bottles.
FDA deputy secretary-general Supatttra Boonserm said the seized products were imported from China and found to be substandard because they had no FDA labels.
Friday’s raid followed another operation by police and FDA officials on Thursday, at a warehouse on the Rangsit-Pathum Thani Road in Muang district of Pathum Thani. They seized many boxes of face masks, alcohol gel, imported protective clothing, thermometers, 600 litres of alcohol and other items.
The seized products were worth about 10 million baht. The owner of the warehouse was a Chinese national, Thai media reported.
Photo by Pongpat Wongyala
Photo by Pongpat Wongyala
