Police commissioner Raymond Siu revealed on Saturday that the force made over 90 arrests for offenses related to "space oil" in the first 10 months of this year.

Space oil is an emerging drug that is usually inhaled through vapes. It often contains etomidate - a part 1 poison that has to be prescribed by a doctor.

Siu told reporters after a passing-out parade that the force is looking to use test strips for detection.

"In the future, when patrolling officers find someone who's suspicious, let's say the person is suspected of taking space oil, we could immediately use test strips to check. We hope that this could have a deterrent effect," he said.

The police chief pointed out that in an operation carried out in Kwai Tsing district related to space oil, all but four of the 17 arrestees were students.

He added that the police will step up education by inviting people who used to take the drug, as well as medical workers, to share the hazards of space oil.

The government is aiming to list space oil as a dangerous drug next year.