According to a report on May 28 by Jcconcursos, the Brazilian Federal Police (PF) and the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) are working together to crack down on a series of e-cigarette crimes, including smuggling, the use of counterfeit documents, money laundering, tax evasion, and criminal organizations involving e-cigarette products.
The investigation began in February of this year, following three large-scale seizure operations by the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service at post offices and airline companies. According to the Federal Police announcement, over 7,500 e-cigarettes were confiscated in these operations, destined for various buyers in Manaus, including individuals, companies, and distributors.
During the investigation, a total of 11 crime suspects and 16 e-cigarette sales points, primarily located in tobacco shops, were identified. Additionally, many of these locations were found to be using forged documents, such as fake invoices, as a cover-up to deceive authorities.
In order to expedite the investigation process, 110 federal police officers and 60 employees from the tax bureau conducted 27 searches and seizures at key locations in Manaus city. Authorities also temporarily suspended the economic activities of related businesses through legal means, and shut down the accounts that were selling these products on social media platforms.
Since 2009, Brazil has explicitly banned the sale of e-cigarettes. Recently, Anvisa once again reaffirmed this ban, which includes the manufacturing, importing, distributing, storing, transporting, and promoting of related devices. At the end of April, Brazil reissued a new resolution emphasizing that any form of importation, including for personal use, will be strictly prohibited.
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