BANGKOK — Thai narcotics police have arrested a Chinese man accused of producing and distributing hundreds of illegal e-cigarette cartridges laced with etomidate, an anesthetic drug, as authorities intensify a crackdown on what they describe as a rapidly spreading problem in Bangkok’s nightlife scene.
The arrest followed an expanded investigation into a network of Chinese nationals allegedly involved in the illicit production and sale of so-called “pod K” or “zombie pod” e-cigarettes, which are mixed with etomidate and sold to customers at pubs and bars across the capital.
Police said the probe began in late November, when officers seized etomidate-laced e-cigarette cartridges and arrested four Chinese suspects during raids on warehouses and distribution points in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district, the resort city of Pattaya and neighboring Nonthaburi province.
Thai police arrest a Chinese suspect inside a condominium room in Bangkok during a raid on an illegal e-cigarette operation involving etomidate-laced cartridges, Dec. 22, 2025.On December 20, officers raided a rented house in Pattaya and arrested a Chinese national, uncovering what authorities described as a large-scale illegal e-cigarette operation. Police said the seized products were valued at more than 10 million baht ($318,000) and included a suspicious white powder believed to be a possible anesthetic substance.
The investigation led to another suspect identified as Li, a 32-year-old Chinese national, who was found on December 22 in the Sukhumvit 13 area of Bangkok. Police said Li confessed to supplying etomidate-laced e-cigarette cartridges to Chinese customers in the Huai Khwang area at about 1,200 baht per cartridge.
A search of two condominium units in Sukhumvit 13, which police said were being used as a production base, uncovered 552 ready-to-sell e-cigarette cartridges containing etomidate, along with empty cartridges, equipment used to produce the active substance, and packaging materials for distribution.
Etomidate-laced e-cigarette cartridges, empty pods and production equipment seized by Thai police are displayed as evidence following the arrest of a Chinese suspect in Bangkok, Dec. 22, 2025.Li was charged with illegal possession of a Category 2 controlled substance — etomidate — with intent to sell, an offense authorities said posed a serious risk to public health and contributed to the spread of dangerous drugs among the public.
Commissioner of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau Lt. Gen. Archayon Kraithong said police have seen a continued rise in the use of “pod K” or “zombie pod” e-cigarettes, particularly among foreign tourists. Etomidate is a fast-acting anesthetic used in medical settings to induce temporary unconsciousness, he said.
When mixed into e-cigarettes, the drug can cause users to feel intoxicated, dizzy or briefly unconscious, police said. Serious side effects include respiratory depression, abnormal heart rhythms and psychological effects such as hallucinations, depression and anxiety, which can be fatal in severe cases.
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