Sattahip —
Authorities raided an illegal electronic cigarette shop in Sri Racha district yesterday, leading to the arrest of a sales employee and the seizure of hundreds of vaping products.
The operation was carried out under the order of Mr. Nopparat Sriprom, the district chief of Sri Racha district, on September 24th, 2024. Police and administrative officials raided a shop selling electronic cigarettes in the Bueng area following complaints from concerned residents that the shop was selling illegal electronic cigarettes to people.
Officers sent a decoy to purchase e-liquid from the shop. Once the decoy received the product, law enforcement officers, who had been monitoring the situation nearby, then identified themselves and conducted an inspection of the premises. They found one employee, identified only as 30-year-old Ms. Yim, at the shop. She was allegedly responsible for selling various types of electronic cigarettes for a daily wage of 500 baht.
When questioned about the shop owner, Ms. Yim stated that a man named Mr. Toon owned the shop, which had 366 electronic cigarettes and 686 e-cigarette cartridges displayed for sale. They also discovered the money used for the undercover purchase in the cash register.
As a result, the employee and the owner were charged with concealing, selling, transporting, purchasing, or receiving goods known to be imported into the country without proper customs clearance, in violation of Section 246 of the Customs Act of 2017. This offense carries a penalty of up to five years in prison or a fine of up to four times the value of the goods, or both. The suspects were then taken into custody and handed over to investigators at the Nong Kham Police Station.
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