DSI, Customs Department, and Royal Thai Police seizure over 120,000 smuggled e-cigarettes from overseas, with a damage value exceeding 21 million baht

published: 3/20/2025 2:26:14 PM updated: 4/4/2025 10:05:36 AM 444 views

DSI, Customs Department, and Royal Thai Police seizure over 120,000 smuggled e-cigarettes from overseas, with a damage value exceeding 21 million baht

Under the policy directive of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, all government agencies have been instructed to integrate their cooperation and move forward with cracking down on the illegal production, importation or distribution of e-cigarettes in order to the spread of all types of e-cigarettes. The instruction is to arrest operations and accelerate the creation of immunity to prevent smoking and e-cigarette use among children and youth, to be completed within 30 days.

On Thursday, March 20, 2025, Mrs. Pongsawat Neelayothin, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, and Police Major Yutthana Praedam, Director-General of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), visited the Laem Chabang Port Customs Office. They were welcomed by Mr. Theeraj Athanavanich, Director-General of the Customs Department; Mr. Direk Khacharak, Deputy Director-General of the Customs Department; and Mr. Wuth Rengpadungtong, Director of Laem Chabang Port Customs Office. This field visit follows the case where the DSI, in collaboration with the Customs Department and the Royal Thai Police, jointly seized transit goods from container no. TSSU5129398, BSIU9619966, TXGU5418901, and JXLU7999350 and discovered 210,300 disposable e-cigarettes, valued at 21,868,200 baht. The contraband was confiscated as it violated the Customs Act, B.E. 2560 (2017), and was classified as prohibited goods under the Notification of the Ministry of Commerce Re: Goods Prohibited from Being Brought in Transit through the Kingdom, 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, 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 case originated from an investigation into an e-cigarette smuggling network, under the supervision of Mr. Tanin Prempree, Director of the Bureau of Tax Crime. He instructed Police Major Klahan Klongpayaban, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Tax Crime, and Mr. Panthphisisth Visalseth, Head of Tax Crime Division 2, and their team to investigate (Investigation Case No.214/2567). The investigation revealed that importers attempted to bring in these illegal goods from overseas but the importers were not completing customs clearance, leading to a thorough container inspection, where the disposable e-cigarettes were found concealed among other goods.

The seized contraband will be assessed by the Customs Department, which will then notify the responsible agencies for legal proceedings. The DSI will intensify its investigation and expand the scope to identify the principals, instigators, and supporters involved in the smuggling network. The enforcement of relevant laws and special measures will be carried out rigorously to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in preventing, suppressing, and addressing the spread of e-cigarettes, leading to concrete and measurable results.