300,000 Vapes Seized in Port Klang, Believed Headed for Singapore

Malaysian Customs officers in Port Klang have uncovered a shipment of about 300,000 vapes and their components, believed to be bound for Singapore.

- Zaihan Mohamed Yusof

A source close to the investigation told The Straits Times that the e-vaporisers had arrived from China.

When Customs officers opened the containers on July 30, they found cardboard boxes declared as furniture.

The officers suspected the boxes actually contained illicit items like e-vaporisers because they were wrapped in green polythene bags—a modus operandi used by vape smuggling syndicates, the source said.

The e-vaporisers seized were branded as "Salthub", without the health warnings that are required for devices intended for the Malaysian market.

Vaping is legal in some states, including Selangor, where Port Klang is located.

"Legal vapes must follow Malaysian guidelines, such as proper packaging and labelling, health warnings, excise tax and volume limits in the vape liquids," said the source.

"We know there are several platforms in Singapore (on Telegram and online) that promote this popular brand of vapes."

He said smugglers would usually transport the vapes to Singapore by road.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) had warned in a report in May that criminal syndicates were using Malaysia as a major maritime trafficking hub for drugs like crystal methamphetamine, or Ice, and vapes to South-east Asia.

Drug syndicates, avoiding land routes from Thailand, were increasingly turning to mari time or cargo trafficking directly to Port Klang, the report said.