On 2/8, the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (PC04) of Ho Chi Minh City Police announced the arrest of a group led by Trong, 26, after dismantling a drug production, mixing, and illegal trafficking ring involving Etomidate.

30 individuals are under investigation for illegal drug trafficking, organizing illegal drug use, and illegal drug use. Files for the remaining seven related individuals are being consolidated for processing.

Le Quang Trong (left) hears his arrest warrant read. Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Police

Investigators identified Trong as the ringleader. His group organized the transport of Etomidate from Cambodia into Vietnam, processed it into essential oil, and then injected it into electronic cigarette pods (Pod Chill) for sale to numerous distributors in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces.

During searches, police seized approximately 10,000 ml of Etomidate-containing essential oil in 21 plastic bottles, 1,460 Pod Chill pods containing the narcotic, 13,500 empty pod shells, 595 pod device bodies, and various mixing, bottling, and liquid injection tools.

According to investigators, the seized Etomidate essential oil was enough to produce nearly 5,000 finished Pod Chill pods.

The discovery of an additional 13,500 empty pod shells and numerous manufacturing tools indicates the suspects were preparing for large-scale production. If all these empty shells had been filled with the narcotic essential oil, the quantity of products released to the market would have been significantly larger than the finished products seized.

The suspects in Trong's drug ring. Photo: Police provided

Ho Chi Minh City Police noted that criminal networks are disguising Etomidate as electronic cigarettes, using modern designs and various fruit flavors to attract users, especially teenagers, high school students, and university students.

Etomidate has been classified as a narcotic. Any acts of producing, buying, selling, transporting, possessing, organizing the use of, or illegally using this substance will be prosecuted under the law.

Ho Chi Minh City Police are continuing to expand their investigation, scrutinizing networks involved in the production, sale, and transport of Etomidate and other new narcotics, particularly those disguised in electronic cigarettes, food, beverages, and consumer products.

Pham Hai