Da Nang police officers have temporarily seized a large number of metal cylinders containing nitrous oxide (N2O), known as laughing gas, without papers and invoices that prove their origin.

The metal cylinders containing laughing gas are seized by Da Nang police. Photo: L.H

At 10:45 a.m. on December 14, through a surprise patrol along a bypass to the south of the Hai Van road tunnel in Hoa Vang District, officers from the Da Nang Police Department discovered four cargo delivery trucks carrying 278 metal cylinders, all of which contain laughing gas.

Through the initial investigations, the drivers of the trucks admitted that these laughing gas containing cylinders had been transported from Northern Viet Nam to Da Nang for the delivery to customers upon their request and serve some illegal business activities.

According to scientists, nitrous oxide creates an instant refreshing feeling, dizziness and blocks the nervous system, reducing the ability to think, distorting sound and even causing visual hallucinations. A person exposed to nitrous oxide in a closed room or inhaling it directly would suffer from a lack of oxygen in their bloodstream. For a normal person, inhaling the laughing gas regularly could affect their nervous system.

The case is still under investigation.

Reporting by LE HUNG – Translating by A. THU