Man Caught at Petrol Station with Nearly 2,000 E-Cigarettes

Picture courtesy of Khaosod.

A 28-year-old man has been arrested at a petrol station in Bangkok for illegally transporting and distributing nearly 2,000 disposable e-cigarettes, which he was delivering to customers across the Chokchai area based on online orders.

The arrest was made by officers from the Metropolitan Police Bureau’s Investigation Division on 21 June at around 16:30. The suspect, Mr. Somchai, was apprehended at a Shell petrol station on Nakniwat Road in Lat Phrao District. Police seized 1,950 disposable e-cigarettes as evidence.

Acting on intelligence that an illicit e-cigarette delivery was planned at the location, investigators from the 2nd Investigation Unit of the Metropolitan Police laid in wait. They observed a Toyota Fortuner (registration from Bangkok) pull into the car park, shortly followed by a Mitsubishi Pajero (registration 5 also from Bangkok).

Mr. Somchai was seen unloading 20 brown cardboard boxes from the Toyota into the Mitsubishi. Officers approached and identified themselves, then proceeded to inspect the boxes. Inside, they discovered over 1,000 disposable e-cigarettes.

Upon questioning, Mr. Somchai confessed to being in possession of the e-cigarettes and claimed he was acting under orders from a man known as “Mr. Chai”, with whom he had communicated via the LINE messaging application. He explained that he had collected the items from a logistics company’s driver and was in the process of delivering them to various drop-off points as directed.

He was charged with two serious offences:

1. Violating consumer protection regulations by selling goods banned by the Consumer Protection Board, specifically disposable e-cigarettes and related liquid refills, in breach of Order No. 24/2567.

2. Possessing and distributing prohibited goods, in violation of Section 246 of the Customs Act B.E. 2560 (2017), for knowingly dealing in items banned from import into the Kingdom of Thailand.

Mr. Somchai and the seized goods were handed over to investigators at Chokchai Police Station for further legal proceedings. Authorities confirmed they are expanding the investigation to identify and apprehend others involved in the broader e-cigarette trafficking network.

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khaosod 2025-06-23