CHIANG RAI – Mae Sai police arrested a man from Trang after he was caught driving around the border area late at night, allegedly delivering suspicious items. Officers searched him and found vape pods filled with ketamine. They seized more than 63 boxes, and he admitted selling each one for 4,000 baht.
At about 2.00 am on 13 December, Pol Col Jiraphat Saksung, superintendent of Mae Sai Police Station, Chiang Rai, and Pol Lt Col Jiraphat Phumithap, deputy superintendent of investigations, received a tip that someone was driving around Mae Sai selling electronic cigarettes.
The source also claimed that the vape devices contained other illegal drugs.
They ordered Pol Lt Col Wongsakorn Thananonpan, investigation inspector, to take a team out to check several locations. The officers later spotted a suspicious black Honda saloon with Phatthalung registration plates leaving the car park of a PTT petrol station in Mae Sai sub-district.
Police observed the car making several stops and handing over items to groups of local youths in Mae Sai district, which raised even more suspicion. After finishing the deliveries, the driver returned to park at the same PTT station.
Officers then moved in and identified the driver as Mr Porntep, 52, from Khuan Thani sub-district, Kantang district, Trang province. When questioned about the items he had just delivered to the youths, he quickly admitted that they were vape pods. He also confessed that the liquid inside the pods contained ketamine.
Police searched his car and then his rented room in village 4, Mae Sai sub-district. They found a total of 63 vape pods filled with ketamine liquid, an amount of cash, and three mobile phones. During further questioning, he said he had already sold 37 boxes that night, at 4,000 baht per box, to young people in the area.
Officers charged Mr Porntep with possession of a Category 2 narcotic (ketamine) with intent to sell without permission, for commercial purposes. During the arrest process, he confessed to all charges and admitted that he had been selling ketamine mixed in vape pods.
Police then took him, along with all seized items, to investigators at Mae Sai Police Station for legal proceedings.
Ketamine vape pods, widely referred to in Thailand as “Pod K”, “K-pods”, or “K-vapes”, are pre-filled or refillable e-cigarette pods that contain e-liquid mixed with ketamine. These products have become a trend in parts of Thailand’s nightlife, especially in clubs and party areas in Bangkok, Pattaya, and Chon Buri. Dealers often sell them online, through apps like Line, or via underground networks. They are sometimes flavoured, such as grape or cola, and are quietly marketed to both tourists and locals.
Why Ketamine Vape Pods Exist and How They Spread
These pods offer a discreet, inhaled way to take ketamine. Users look for the same hallucinogenic and dissociative effects they get from traditional use, but see vaping as easier and more convenient. News reports from 2024 to 2025 have flagged many arrests connected to these products. Authorities have seized large numbers of pods that contain ketamine or similar drugs such as etomidate.
Legal Status in Thailand
These products are illegal in Thailand for several reasons:
- Ketamine is a controlled drug
Ketamine is listed as a Category 2 psychotropic substance under the Psychotropic Substances Act. Doctors use it as an anaesthetic, but any non-medical possession, use, production, or sale is banned. Penalties can include:- Up to 1 to 7 years in prison and fines up to 700,000 baht for possession
- Heavier punishment for sale or trafficking, up to 15 years in prison and fines up to 1.5 million baht
- E-cigarettes and vaping products are banned
Since 2014, importing, selling, or distributing vapes, e-liquids, and related products has been against the law under the Consumer Protection Act and customs rules. Possession can lead to fines, confiscation, or even jail. In practice, officers often focus more on sellers than casual users, but both face risk.
Putting ketamine into vape pods creates a double offence. It combines a controlled substance with a banned vaping device. Because of rising use, health problems, and its growing presence in nightlife, Thai authorities, including the FDA and police, have stepped up action against “Pod K”. Reported health risks include addiction, psychosis, overdose, and breathing problems.
Officials encourage people to report these products through hotlines, and both possession and sale can bring serious penalties, especially for foreign visitors. Although these pods still circulate on the black market, they carry high legal risk and serious health dangers.
