Hong Kong Customs seized on Saturday about 15 kilos of suspected etomidate—the main ingredient for “space oil”—worth HK$14 million ($1.81 million) during an anti-narcotic operation in Tsuen Wan and Ngau Tau Kok.

Customs officers charged a 46-year-old man who was caught with the controlled substance with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, one count of possession of a dangerous drug and one count of possession of apparatus fit and intended for the inhalation of a dangerous drug.

‘Space oil’ is a kind of liquid that is often vaped through e-cigarettes. It can produce transient euphoria and cause addiction, and has become popular among youth communities since 2023.

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The customs officers incepted the man while he was holding a suitcase in Tsuen Wan on Saturday afternoon. They arrested him after finding about 15 kg of the controlled substance concealed in a batch of food packages inside the suitcase.

The officers later escorted the man to his residence in Ngau Tau Kok for a search, and further seized about 1 gram of suspected etomidate and two sets of suspected drug inhaling paraphernalia inside the premises.

READ MORE: HK classifies main ingredient of space oil as dangerous drug

The suspect will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on Tuesday. Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offense.

The Hong Kong SAR government in February classified etomidate and three similar substances as dangerous drugs. Selling these drugs is punishable by a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of HK$5 million.