National Police Agency: Etomidate Drugs Scheduled, 8.5 Million Toxic Vape Pods Blocked

(Central News Agency, reporters Xie Junlin and Liu Shiyi, Taipei, June 8) The National Police Agency (NPA) stated today that since etomidate-class drugs were scheduled, police agencies nationwide have seized a total of 849.5 kilograms, preventing 8.5 million toxic vape pods from entering the market. Additionally, 6,730 drug-impaired driving cases were detected from January to May, with vehicles immediately impounded and license plates seized.

The Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee of the Legislative Yuan today invited Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien, Deputy Director-General of the NPA Liao Hsun-cheng, and others to give a special report on "From Source Investigation to Road Safety: Taiwan's Drug Crime and Drug-Impaired Driving Prevention Policy" and to answer questions.

An NPA written report indicated that in recent years, the NPA has promoted multiple regulations related to drug-impaired driving and enhanced law enforcement capabilities. On November 20, 2024, it introduced "saliva drug rapid test kits," allowing on-duty officers to immediately implement "person-vehicle separation" measures such as vehicle impoundment and license suspension at the scene, forcibly eliminating the hazards of drug-impaired driving.

The NPA stated that on May 13, 2025, it promulgated revised versions of the "Procedures for Cracking Down on Driving After Suspected Drug Use" and the "Drug-Impaired Driving Enforcement Procedure Quick Guide." The new procedures clearly stipulate that if a saliva test is positive, or if a driver refuses the test and objective circumstances indicate they are unfit to drive safely, they can be arrested on the spot as a flagrant offender or quasi-flagrant offender.

Furthermore, on May 28, the NPA also formally requested the competent authority, the Highway Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, to publish the names of repeat drug-impaired driving offenders in accordance with the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act, to achieve a deterrent effect.

According to NPA statistics, a total of 2,619 drug-impaired driving cases were detected in 2024, 8,659 cases in 2025, and 6,730 cases from January to May this year. For this year's cases, over 98% were proactively intercepted by police on the streets, preventing subsequent fatalities and injuries through immediate person-vehicle separation before danger materialized.

Regarding saliva test enforcement capacity, the NPA stated that in 2025, police agencies nationwide purchased a total of 12,545 saliva drug rapid test kits. This year, the number of kits nationwide has been increased to 45,711, ensuring sufficient frontline enforcement capacity for cracking down on drug-impaired driving. The NPA will continue to evaluate and implement expanded procurement on a rolling basis according to the law.

An NPA analysis of the age groups of drug-impaired drivers in 2024 and 2025 shows that the majority are middle-aged adults aged 30-49, accounting for about 50% to 55%, followed by young adults aged 18-29, accounting for about 30% to 35%. This distribution is roughly consistent with the age distribution of Taiwan's drug-using population. The NPA will continue to adjust its drug-impaired driving enforcement strategies in response to drug use patterns.

According to NPA statistics, from August 2024, when etomidate-class substances were classified as a Category 3 drug, and subsequently amended to a Category 2 drug by Executive Yuan announcement on November 27, 2024, to the end of April 2026, police agencies nationwide arrested a total of 21,207 drug suspects, seized 849.5 kilograms of etomidate-class drugs (including vape oil and powder), and successfully prevented 8.5 million toxic vape pods from entering the market.

The written report pointed out that on May 24, 2025, the NPA planned and executed a "Nationwide Synchronized Enhanced Crackdown on Drug-Impaired Driving and Source-Disruption Drug Enforcement Project." As of May 31, 877 drug-impaired driving suspects and 936 drug suspects had been apprehended, 29 drug manufacturing factories and mixed-drug packaging sites had been raided, and a total of 27.5 kilograms of drug powder, 1,124 etomidate vape pods, and 367 bottles of etomidate vape oil had been seized. (Editor: Wu Surou) June 8, 2026