Police weren’t laughing when they discovered three women selling balloons filled with nitrous oxide on Walking Street.
Laksina Saensainaet, 17, Ratree Phatmod, 19, and Aphisra Suwaradee, 42, were taken into custody after-midnight Aug. 21, with the two teens working outside the Candy Shop and Lucifer discos, and Aphisra manning a booth further down the nightlife strip.
Police seized two balloons filled with the so-called “laughing gas” and 70 unfilled balloons.
Police have arrested Laksina Saensainaet, Ratree Phatmod, and Aphisra Suwaradee for illegally selling nitrous oxide on Walking Street.
Aphisra told police she managed the “Funny Air” balloon shop for an unnamed Russian businessman. Each balloon sold for 120 baht with buyers encouraged to open it and breath in the nitrous oxide, the same gas used by dentists as an anesthetic. Users get light-headed, feel euphoric and laugh a lot.
It’s also a regulated compound in Thailand and illegal to sell to consumers. The three women claimed they were unaware of the prohibition.
The three suspects were charged with selling an illegal substance while Aphisra was additionally charged with employing an underage worker.
