Man, 30, charged for allegedly trafficking almost 2,000 Kpods into Singapore

A 30-year-old man has been charged in court for allegedly trafficking almost 2,000 etomidate e-vaporiser pods into Singapore, said the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

In a press release on Thursday (Jan 22), HSA said that the operation yielded the largest haul of etomidate e-vaporiser pods — otherwise known as Kpods — since etomidate was classified as a Class C controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) on Sep 1 last year.

The agency said that Muhamad Khairuddin Abdullah had attempted to smuggle the Kpods into Singapore at Woodlands Checkpoint on the night of Jan 20.

Muhamad was travelling with his 63-year-old mother and four-month-old niece in a rental car, and had hidden the 1,989 e-vaporiser pods in the car boot.

Upon discovery of the hidden e-vaporiser pods, Muhamad was detained by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority.

HSA was also alerted, and subsequently conducted a raid at his residence, yielding three regular e-vaporiser pods. 

Laboratory testing confirmed that the pods seized at the checkpoint contained etomidate, and investigations are ongoing, said HSA.

Muhamad was charged in court on Thursday and his case has been adjourned to March 5.

Under the new penalties imposed, etomidate importers will face a minimum of three years in jail and five strokes of the cane. Depending on the severity of their charges, they can face a maximum jail sentence of 20 years and 15 strokes of the cane under MDA.

Similarly, sellers and distributors will face a minimum of two years in jail and two strokes of the cane.

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dana.leong@asiaone.com