{"id":587467,"date":"2026-09-02T01:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T01:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/587467\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T01:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T01:54:12","slug":"sedative-linked-to-space-vapes-found-hidden-in-luggage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/587467\/","title":{"rendered":"Sedative linked to space vapes found hidden in luggage"},"content":{"rendered":"

A woman was arrested in Auckland after 3 kilograms of the sedative etomidate was allegedly found in her luggage. <\/p>\n

Customs said the woman arrived on a flight from Malaysia on Saturday and underwent a baggage search. <\/p>\n

Customs officers found “signs of tampering” and a bulge in the lining while searching the luggage. Officers then drilled into the bag after an X-ray revealed “inconsistencies”. <\/p>\n

A “white crystalline substance” was found, which tested positive for the sedative etomidate \u2013 a Class C controlled drug. <\/p>\n

Etomidate is a fast-acting sedative used as an anaesthetic during short medical procedures. <\/p>\n

\"Etomidate,<\/p>\n

Etomidate, a fast-acting sedative used in medical procedures, has been detected in vape products sold under names like space oil, k-pods, space vapes, or eto. (Source: High Alert)<\/p>\n

According to the Government’s drug alert system, High Alert, etomidate is put in illicit vapes and sold as space oil, k-pods, space vapes, or eto. Mixed with other drugs, etomidate can be fatal. <\/p>\n

In November 2025, High Alert warned vape pods containing etomidate<\/a> had been linked to a growing number of acute drug harm cases nationwide. <\/p>\n

\u201cCustoms is focused on detecting and disrupting attempts to bring drugs into New Zealand, regardless of how they are concealed,” Chief Customs Officer, compliance and enforcement, Ben Wells said. <\/p>\n

“Interceptions like this help prevent potentially dangerous substances from reaching the community and causing harm.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A woman was arrested in Auckland after 3 kilograms of the sedative etomidate was allegedly found in her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[51,67,134,524,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-587467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-auckland","tag-crime-and-justice","tag-health","tag-medication","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}