A man has been charged with the alleged importation of e-vaporiser pods containing etomidate, known as Kpods, after 100 were found in his car at Woodlands Checkpoint.
24-year-old Sheikh Omar Bin Mohamed Ismail was charged in court on 2 July, said the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in a press release on 9 July.
Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority via Facebook
Sheikh Omar was attempting to enter Singapore via Woodlands Checkpoint on 30 June, when he was detained by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
ICA officers subsequently discovered 2 e-vaporisers and 100 vaporiser pods hidden in his car.
HSA was alerted, and its officers arrived at the scene.
Source: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, Singapore
Taking over the investigations, HSA searched Sheikh Omar’s home.
They found two more vapes there and seized them.
Source: Health Sciences Authority, Singapore
Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of etomidate in the seized pods.
Investigations are ongoing.
After Sheikh Omar Bin was charged under the Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act 1993 (TVCA) on 2 July, he was remanded for a week to assist with further investigations.
His case was mentioned again in court on Thursday (9 July).
According to a hearing list from SG Courts, a man named Sheikh Omar Bin Mohamed Ismail appeared in court at 9am over a charge under the TVCA.
He was offered bail of S$25,000, with the case adjourned for a pre-trial conference on 18 Aug.
Source: SG Courts
Additionally, a man with the same name also appeared in court at 9.30am on the same day for a hearing over a charge under the Customs Act.
That case will be mentioned again on 19 Aug, with S$500 bail offered.
Source: SG Courts
Sheikh Omar Bin Mohamed Ismail appeared again in court at 2.30pm for a hearing over a charge under the Road Traffic Act and others.
That case will also be mentioned again on 19 Aug, with S$2,000 bail offered.
Source: SG Courts
HSA said it takes “a serious view” of offences involving the trafficking of vapes and etomidate.
Under the TVCA — which was renamed from the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act 1993 — etomidate and its analogues have been classified as Specified Psychoactive Substances (SPS), with penalties for offences involving such substances aligned with those under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973.
That means importers will face three to 20 years’ jail and five to 15 strokes of the cane, while suppliers face two to 10 years’ jail and two to five strokes of the cane.
Also read: 4 S’porean men charged for allegedly being part of transnational Kpod syndicate, 1,111 Kpods seized
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Featured image adapted from Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, Singapore and Health Sciences Authority, Singapore.