Kaohsiung Police Raid Underground Drug Lab Producing Zombie Vapes, Arrest Ten

During a recent anti-narcotics operation, the Criminal Investigation Corps of the Kaohsiung City Police Department received intelligence indicating that an illicit drug trafficking ring was hiding within its jurisdiction. Following a prolonged period of surveillance and evidence gathering, authorities targeted a residential property in Kaohsiung's Siaogang District as the syndicate's primary stronghold. Operating with a high degree of secrecy, the trafficking ring even offered a customized "on-demand brewing" service, mixing and packaging etomidate-laced vape oil on-site. Deeming the timing optimal, the Kaohsiung City Police Department, in coordination with relevant police forces, recently launched a dawn raid to successfully dismantle the drug manufacturing base. A total of ten suspects, including the principal mastermind and accomplices, were arrested on-site, and a large quantity of related evidence was seized. Following interrogation, the suspects have been transferred to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office for investigation in accordance with the law.

In recent years, emerging illicit drugs have proliferated across Taiwan, with etomidate—commonly known as "zombie vape cartridges"—rapidly spreading among young people and nightlife venues. Etomidate is originally a short-acting intravenous anesthetic primarily used in clinical settings for surgical anesthesia induction. However, because it depresses the central nervous system, causing users to experience confusion, loss of limb control, and abnormal tremors resembling the behavior of zombies, unscrupulous individuals have mixed it into electronic cigarette oils for sale. The syndicate uncovered by Kaohsiung police did not merely resell drugs; they further established a small-scale laboratory inside a residence, offering the so-called "on-demand brewing" service to mix drug vape oils of varying concentrations and flavors according to client specifications, demonstrating increasingly professionalized and syndicated criminal methods.

When police initiated the raid, the situation on-site was tense, but due to tight police deployment, the suspects were subdued before they could destroy any evidence. Officers searched the multi-story residential building and seized a large quantity of raw etomidate materials, empty vape cartridges, heating equipment, and packaging tools, along with a sum of cash and multiple mobile phones involved in the crimes. A total of ten suspects were arrested at the scene, including core members responsible for technical mixing as well as accomplices who assisted with promotion and delivery. Following the apprehension of the ten suspects, police launched an expanded investigation into their upstream and downstream supply chains in an effort to unearth the hidden drug sources and financial flows, thereby completely dismantling this criminal network that threatens local public security.

Notably, during the raid and search, in addition to seizing a large quantity of drug manufacturing tools and etomidate vape oil, officers unexpectedly discovered an illegally kept Formosan macaque, a protected wildlife species, inside the house. Because the Formosan macaque is an endemic wild animal in Taiwan, current wildlife conservation laws and related regulations stipulate that unauthorized capture, keeping, or trading of wild animals is illegal. After completing on-site evidence collection, the police immediately notified the Kaohsiung City Government's Agriculture Bureau to dispatch personnel for assistance. Upon arrival, staff from the bureau's Animal Protection Office lawfully relocated and housed the imprisoned Formosan macaque, and subsequent penalties were imposed on the suspect for illegal possession in accordance with animal protection and wildlife conservation regulations—making it an unexpected animal protection case stemming from a drug bust.

In recent years, Taiwanese society has paid close attention to the hazards of emerging drugs, particularly as anesthetic drugs such as etomidate have been abused as vape cartridges, repeatedly causing severe traffic accidents and public safety incidents that have prompted relevant government departments to continuously strengthen enforcement efforts. The Executive Yuan recently officially classified etomidate as a Schedule 2 controlled substance, substantially increasing the criminal penalties for possession, manufacturing, transportation, and distribution to curb the proliferation of the drug. The drug manufacturing base cracked down upon by Kaohsiung police not only successfully intercepted a large volume of narcotics from entering the market, but also once again demonstrated the determination of law enforcement agencies to sweep away emerging drugs. The case is currently under intensive investigation by the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office, and the judicial authorities will hold the involved individuals criminally liable based on the relevant evidence.