Officials have seized about 7,300 Chinese-made plug-in bug repellent devices from three warehouses in Bangkok, saying they could pose a health hazard and fire risk.
The devices were found on Monday in warehouses on Sukhumvit Soi 54 in Phra Khanong district and on Thian Thale Soi 20 in Bang Khun Thian, and in a commercial building at the Sampeng 2 market on Kanlapaphruek Road in Bang Khae, said Pol Maj Gen Withaya Sriprasertparp, head of the consumer protection police division.
The raids followed a report from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that unsafe plug-in bug repellent products were widely available online. They came from China and did not pass any certification process by the FDA, he said.
Investigators said the products were smuggled by boats from neighbouring countries into the North and were retailed at about 20 baht each, compared with the market price of about 60 baht.
Police and FDA officials rounded them up out of concern that such unexamined products might contain hazardous substances or be contaminated, Pol Maj Gen Withaya said.
Weerachai Nolwachai, the FDA deputy secretary-general, said the raids resulted from a sting operation in which undercover officials ordered the products from vendors.
Subsequent examination found the products contained meperfluthrin and dimefluthrin, two insecticides in the pyrethroid group. Thailand, the European Union, the United States and the World Health Organization have not approved their use around humans because there has not been sufficient proof of their safety.
Pyrethroids are a commonly used class of pesticides that are carefully regulated in Thailand and most other countries. The WHO has said that most pyrethroids are “relatively safe” for humans but exposure to high concentrations could be harmful to health.
Users of the seized products could inhale hazardous vapours, and their plugs appeared substandard and might catch fire if left in outlets overnight, Mr Weerachai said.
He encouraged consumers to buy only FDA-certified products for their safety.