Police have arrested the head of an e-cigarette distribution network following raids on two facilities in Bangkok on Thursday.
The raids took place at a condominium in the Rama III area of Bang Kho Laem district and a house on Nawamin Soi 42 in the Khlong Kum area of Bung Kum district, said Pol Maj Gen Withaya Sriprasertpap, commander of the Consumer Protection Police Division.
Officers had obtained search warrants from the Criminal Court following an investigation that found the two sites had been used to store and distribute e-cigarettes and liquids.
Sales of the illegal products took place via the Facebook account “Iqos Thailand FanClub”, with about 100 million baht in circulation.
Investigators found that the storage and distribution facilities were changed frequently to evade police raids, said Pol Maj Gen Withaya.
Police seized over 70,000 e-cigarettes and liquid containers, worth about 10 million baht. Alleged network operator Jenkij Hom-aroon, 32, alias “Ti-Leng IQOS Mafia”, was arrested and will face charges.
Vaping devices are illegal in Thailand but are sold widely at street stalls, especially in popular tourist areas. A survey earlier this year found that an estimated 9.1% of young people in the country used e-cigarettes, mostly due to peer pressure.