SINGAPORE, March 3 — Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) has arrested five people in a two-day operation targeting the illicit vape trade, seizing more than 1,200 etomidate-laced e-vaporiser pods, high-end watches, cash exceeding S$240,000 (RM740,000), foreign currencies and three vehicles.

The raids, carried out across Bedok, Sembawang, Mandai, Woodlands and Miltonia in late February, reflect growing enforcement pressure since etomidate — a powerful anaesthetic increasingly found in black-market vapes — was classified as a Class C drug in September 2025.

In a statement yesterday, CNB said a 36-year-old man was arrested in Bedok North on February 25, where 50 pods believed to contain etomidate were recovered. 

Officers said “the man put up a violent struggle, and necessary force was used to restrain him”.

That same evening, officers moved on a 29-year-old man at the junction of Sembawang Road and Mandai Avenue. 

He was escorted to a self-storage facility in Woodlands Close, where 1,084 pods were seized. His vehicle was confiscated.

A parallel raid at a unit in Miltonia Close saw the arrest of a 37-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman. 

Officers found 145 pods, nine vapourisers, S$243,451.35 in cash, smaller amounts of foreign currencies and several luxury watches. CNB said two of the man’s vehicles were also seized.

In the early hours of February 26, a 19-year-old man was detained at a Woodlands Drive residence, with officers recovering five pods believed to contain etomidate.

The seizure of so-called Kpods highlights the rise of a drug that has sparked concern among regional authorities for its sedative effects and growing presence in underground vape circuits.

CNB said investigations into all five suspects are ongoing.