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Drug ring nabbed in Malaysia for attempting to smuggle drug-laced e-cigarettes into Korea

Published: 08 Jul. 2025, 17:18

E-cigarette cartridges containing illegal drugs [NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE]

Malaysian authorities have apprehended a drug ring for attempting to smuggle 2 million doses of e-cigarettes laced with etomidate and cocaine to Korea, in collaboration with the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Seoul's spy agency said Tuesday.

The NIS collaborated with Malaysia's Narcotics Crimes Investigation Department to apprehend four members of an international drug ring in the Southeast Asian country, including the 31-year-old Singaporean ring leader, on June 19, according to the agency.

The four are accused of attempting to smuggle and distribute 20,000 liquid e-cigarettes laced with etomidate and cigarettes into South Korea every month via Malaysia and other transit locations. The quantity is sufficient for use by 2 million people simultaneously.

Etomidate is an anesthetic agent used for anesthesia and sedation. Abuse of illegally mixed etomidate can cause severe health effects, including death.

Malaysian authorities also confiscated 4,958 cartridges containing illegal compound drugs, enough to supply 500,000 people, along with thousands of boxes intended for packaging, the NIS said.

E-cigarette cartridges containing illegal drugs [NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE]

The spy agency first identified the ring leader as a suspect in 2023 while monitoring the local activities of international drug organizations. It subsequently dispatched agents to Malaysia and provided key information that led to the arrest of his drug ring.

The ring leader posed as a businessman in Korea, establishing a headhunting firm in Seoul's southern Gangnam area. He approached Korean students who studied in Singapore to introduce them to etomidate and established a distribution network in the country, the NIS said.

Yonhap