Metropolitan Police officers and officials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Thailand have raided the country's largest illegal nitrous oxide production facility in Bangkok's Prawet district, seizing assets valued at more than 72 million baht.
A joint force, led by Pol. Maj-Gen. Pallop Aeramla, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and Pol. Maj-Gen. Chotiwat Luangwilai, commander of the Investigation Division, executed a search warrant on a factory and warehouse compound located on Soi Chaloem Phra Kiat Rama 9 in the Dok Mai sub-district.
Authorities arrested two Chinese nationals overseeing the operation alongside 10 migrant workers from Myanmar, who were working and residing at the site.
Inside the facility, law enforcement officers confiscated 1,652 filled nitrous oxide cylinders ready for distribution, five blue 48.6kg N2O gas cylinders, 4,200 empty cylinders, two pickup trucks, gas-filling devices, compressors and pressure regulators.
Crucially, investigators impounded two large trailer trucks equipped with bulk storage tanks containing a combined total of 72,000 kilograms of liquid gas.
Chotiwat stated that the illegal plant had operated undetected for over a year. The operation imported bulk liquid nitrous oxide, converted it into gas and refilled smaller canisters to sell at 1,000 baht per kilogram, supplying nightlife venues and tourist hot spots nationwide where usage is popular among foreign visitors.
Aranya Thepphitak, director of the FDA’s Health Product Complaint and Crime Suppression Centre, issued a grave health warning against recreational inhalation of nitrous oxide via balloons.
She emphasised that inhaling the gas displaces oxygen in the lungs and central nervous system, leading to dizziness, nausea, loss of balance and unconsciousness, while prolonged exposure risks permanent nerve damage and muscular weakness due to severe vitamin B12 deficiency.
Authorities have charged all suspects with manufacturing and selling unregistered drugs without a license under the Drug Act of 1967, alongside violations of the Factory Act and the Foreign Business Act, with ongoing investigations targeted at tracing the import supply chain.
