Group injecting synthetic marijuana into cigarettes busted in Hanoi

Le Anh Tho, 28, the kingpin of the group, and his five henchmen are under investigation for illegal trading of narcotic substances.

According to the police, Tho ordered synthetic cannabinoids, powdered chemicals that are usually mixed with solvents and sprayed on herbs, from abroad and learned to extract oil from it by himself to put into the cigarettes.

Le Anh Tho when he was arrested in Hanoi, Nov. 23, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Ha

He directed his gang to inject the oil into the cigarettes and labeled them as "ampire chill" in the case of e-cigarettes and "dominix" in the case of normal cigarettes.

The group advertised the products as containing "stimulants that are not drugs."

They constantly changed the location of their warehouse and production facility to avoid getting caught.

They used social media to sell the cigarettes and kept changing accounts to cover their tracks.

Ingredients and tools used for injecting drugs into cigarettes seized by police. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Ha

Following an investigation, on September 14 officers from the Ministry of Public Security raided the group’s facility in Thanh Tri District and red-handedly caught four of the men injecting cannabis into e-cigarettes.

They seized more than 3,500 drug-laced cigarettes, 84 liters of cannabis extract stored in plastic cans, pumps, components for making more than 10,000 e-cigarettes solvents, chemicals, labels, and nearly 15,000 smuggled e-cigarettes.

The popularity of e-cigarettes has skyrocketed in recent years, especially among young people.