Key Points:
·Details of seizure: Malaysian Port Klang Customs officials seized around 300,000 e-cigarettes and their components, which were disguised as furniture and wrapped in green polyethylene bags.
·Smuggling method: Smuggling syndicates commonly use green polyethylene bags to wrap the goods in order to evade customs inspection.
·Market regulations: Some states in Malaysia allow the sale of e-cigarettes, but they must comply with strict packaging and labeling requirements, including health warnings.
·Singapore market: There is evidence that these e-cigarettes may be sold in Singapore through online platforms, and Singapore authorities have intensified enforcement efforts.
·International background: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has warned that Malaysia has become a major maritime hub for drug and e-cigarette smuggling into Southeast Asia.
Malaysian Customs officers in Port Klang have uncovered a shipment of about 300,000 vapes and their components, believed to be bound for Singapore. 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 maritime or cargo trafficking directly to Port Klang, the report said. "As in previous years, Selangor — situated on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia — recorded the largest amount of crystal methamphetamine seized in the country in 2024, amounting to 3.6 tonnes, indicating its role as not only a major entry point but also an exit point primarily towards North Sumatra, Indonesia," the UNODC added.
ST had previously reported two large seizures of drugs at ports in Malaysia. In April 2023, Malaysian Customs seized bags of Ecstasy, with a value estimated at $22.6 million, concealed inside industrial machines in a container that had arrived in Penang port. Two months later, it discovered 300kg of cocaine in Port Klang in a container loaded with beans. Malaysian Customs had in the second half of 2024 interrupted smuggling activities at Port Klang involving goods worth over RM10.87 million (S$3.3 million). The items included basmati rice and cigarettes. Earlier in 2025, vapes and vape juice worth RM5 million were confiscated in separate enforcement actions at port facilities in Penang and Selangor. They included 71,886 vape devices and 786.5 litres of flavoured liquids valued at RM3.64 million seized at Port Klang. The items were declared falsely as plastic goods.
The vapes uncovered in July started their journey in China through a shipping company that did not have any contact numbers or a website. The shipment was to be collected by a Malaysian consignee, based on a shipping manifest ST saw. When the authorities visited the consignee's registered business address, they found that it was a home, and not an office or warehouse. ST has contacted Port Klang and Selangor State Customs for comment.
Meanwhile, the authorities in Singapore have stepped up enforcement in the wake of a spike in vaping activities. From January 2024 to March 2025, the Health Sciences Authority seized $41 million worth of vapes — nearly fivefold the reported value seized from 2019 to end-2023, according to numbers compiled by ST. Between April and June, 19 large-scale vape smuggling cases were detected at Singapore's air, land, and sea checkpoints, leading to around 90,000 vapes and related products being seized. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is increasing checks at the air, land, and sea checkpoints to detect and deter attempts to smuggle e-vaporisers. The agency said it uses data analytics to perform pre-arrival risk assessment of travellers, conveyances, and cargo. Higher-risk cargo or visitors are flagged for checks on arrival at Singapore's checkpoints. ICA officers also conduct ground assessments and use radiographic and X-ray scanners, and handheld detection devices to uncover contraband in vehicles or on visitors at the borders.
Singapore is taking a whole-of-government approach to tackle vaping, including raising awareness and public health messaging in schools, army camps, migrant worker dormitories, and on public transport, as well as deploying more government personnel to support enforcement efforts. In his National Day Rally speech on Aug 17, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the Government will treat vaping as a drug issue, with stiffer penalties to be imposed. From Sept 1, anybody caught possessing, using, or buying vapes will face higher penalties. Recalcitrant users may be required to undergo rehabilitation. Vape abusers will face increased fines of $500 for those under 18, and $700 for adults, up from $300 and $500 previously. Abusers of vapes laced with synthetic drugs like etomidate or ketamine, also known as Kpods, can be subjected to rehabilitation, mandatory supervision, and detention. Sellers of Kpods will face higher penalties under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
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