A Singaporean man is suspected of smuggling a liquid containing etomidate from Thailand into Japan, and was arrested by law enforcement officers at Narita Airport.
According to Japanese media reports, the arrested man, named Muhammad Nasir (phonetic translation, age unknown), arrived at Tokyo Narita Airport on April 18. Law enforcement officials found several plastic bottles with different colored labels in his suitcase and immediately detained him.
Nasir claimed he was entrusted by a Singaporean acquaintance and offered a payment of about 2,000 Singapore dollars to bring the items from Thailand to Japan, but stated he did not know the items contained etomidate.
Etomidate is commonly used to make the so-called "Zombie Cartridge" for e-cigarettes, and has been classified as a class C drug in Singapore. Japan also listed it as a controlled substance last year.
Preliminary investigations indicate that Japanese police suspect the case involves a transnational smuggling syndicate, and further investigations are ongoing.
Two days prior to this case, a Taiwanese woman was caught with about 4 kilograms of etomidate at Tokyo Haneda Airport, suspected to be the largest case of its kind in Japan to date. The woman, Liu Tingyu (phonetic translation), 50, claimed the suitcase was borrowed and she was unaware it contained drugs.
Both suspects in these cases entered Japan from Thailand, and law enforcement agencies are investigating whether the cases are connected.