Beach vendor arrested for selling laughing gas without a permit at Full Moon Party Koh Phangan

A shop owner on Koh Phangan, where the Full Moon Party takes place, was arrested for selling balloons filled with nitrous oxide (laughing gas) without a permit.

Police arrested 29-year-old Rangsiman Jaisamer early Thursday morning at his shop in Haad Rin, Tambon Ban Tai, for selling balloons filled with nitrous oxide to beachgoers.

Officers found two bottles of nitrous oxide and several balloons in his store, presumably intended for retail sale.

Mr Rangsiman, who reportedly confessed to the crime, said he benefited from rising petrol prices as authorities stepped up their crackdown on the illegal sale of nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide is a colorless, non-flammable gas used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic effects. The gas is better known as laughing gas due to the euphoric effect it produces when inhaled, and has long been used by partygoers.

Read the full story in the Bangkok Post – Beach vendor arrested at Full Moon Party for selling laughing gas. It was brought to us by Google Alerts.

Photo credit @ Bangkok Post Police Photo | A sign displays the price of nitrous oxide in balloons sold illegally at the raided shop on Koh Phangan, Surat Thani early Thursday morning.