A Taiwanese woman has been arrested at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on suspicion of smuggling about 4 kilograms of etomidate, a regulated substance also known as a “zombie cigarette,” in a suitcase, in what police said was a record seizure.
Liu Ting-yu, 50, who was arrested on Thursday, has denied the allegation, saying she had borrowed the suitcase and was unaware it contained etomidate.
Abuse of the sedative-laced vape liquid has spread among young people in Japan, with overdoses causing loss of consciousness and spasms in the hands and legs.
The police suspect Liu conspired to check in the suitcase on a flight from Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport to Haneda, where customs officers found it during an inspection.
© KYODO
