OSAKA ¨C A 31-year-old Thai woman has been arrested by Japanese police for allegedly smuggling etomidate, known as ¡°zombie cigarettes,¡± in a suitcase.
According to Osaka Customs, this was the first case of etomidate-related police action taken at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture. Etomidate, which causes muscle spasms and erratic behavior in some cases, was added to Japan¡¯s list of controlled substances in May last year.
Tuela Kanwara was arrested and later indicted for allegedly smuggling 1,002 cartridges of the substance totaling about 500 grams in a suitcase on a plane from Thailand into Japan on Nov. 5.
The cartridges were concealed in seven snack packets, according to the Osaka Prefectural Police¡¯s Kansai airport police station and others.
She was traveling with a Malaysian man, who was also arrested and indicted for allegedly smuggling stimulants into Japan.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.