DSI and Laem Chabang Port Customs Office seized over 200,000 smuggled e-cigarettes, with an estimated value of 40 million baht

DSI and Laem Chabang Port Customs Office seized over 200,000 smuggled e-cigarettes, with an estimated value of 40 million baht

In response to orders from Police Colonel Tawee Sodsong, Minister of Justice, to intensify investigations into the illegal import of e-cigarettes, Police Major Yutthana Praedam, Director-General of the Department of Special Investigation, assigned the Bureau of Tax Crime to collaborate with the Customs Department and the Royal Thai Police to investigate e-cigarettes smuggling networks under Investigation Case No. 214/2567. Under the supervision of Mr. Tanin Prempree, Director of the Bureau of Tax Crime, Police Major Klahan Klongpayaban, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Tax Crime, and Mr. Panthphisisth Visalseth, Head of Tax Crime Division 2, led the investigation along with their team. Upon receiving intelligence that a shipment of e-cigarettes was being smuggled from China into Thailand through Laem Chabang Port in the container No. MRSU3507211, DSI alerted the Laem Chabang Port Customs Office and promptly ordered the seizure of the container. 

On March 7, 2025, at 6:00 PM, officials from the Bureau of Tax Crime, in coordination with the Customs Department and the Royal Thai Police, inspected the container No. MRSU3507211 and discovered 23,400 disposable e-cigarettes, 6,000 bottles of e-liquid, and 172,000 e-cigarette pods pre-filled with liquid, totaling 201,400 items worth approximately 40 million baht. The contraband was confiscated as it violated the Customs Act, B.E. 2560 (2017), and was classified as a prohibited goods under the Notification of Ministry of Commerce Re: Goods Prohibited from Being Brought in Transit, B.E. 2559 (2016), in conjunction with the Notification of the Ministry of Commerce Regarding the Prohibition of Import of Baraku and Electronic Baraku or Electronic Cigarettes into the Kingdom of Thailand, B.E. 2557 (2014), as well as Customs Department Notification No. 185/2564 Regarding the Electronic Transit Procedure, dated December 1, 2021, Section 6.

This operation aligns with the directive from Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who instructed relevant agencies during a recent Cabinet meeting to combat the spread of e-cigarettes in Thailand, with a particular focus on border security. Authorities have been ordered to complete enforcement actions within 30 days. Additionally, further details of the seizure will be announced at a press conference on Monday, March 10, 2025, at 3:00 PM at the Laem Chabang Port Customs Office, Chonburi Province, with the Minister of Justice, the Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Deputy Minister of Finance in attendance.