Editor's note：
In what is believed to be China’s largest nicotine pouch enforcement case to date, authorities in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province have seized 6.15 metric tons of nicotine raw material and 7,407 cans of nicotine pouches, with the total case value exceeding RMB 100 million (approx. USD 14 million). The April 2024 raid uncovered two separate sites within the same industrial park—one storing large volumes of nicotine, and another operating as a concealed manufacturing facility producing illicit nicotine pouches.
The pouches were labeled as “VELO,” “PANLO,” and “ZYNC”, which are believed to be possible imitations of well-known international nicotine pouch brands. “PANLO” may resemble Sweden’s “PABLO,” while “ZYNC” appears similar to the U.S. market leader “ZYN.”
According to a professional familiar with China’s nicotine pouch supply chain, the two largest nicotine pouch manufacturers in China—both pharmaceutical companies—also operate their production lines in Hengqin, Zhuhai, the same area where this case was discovered.
According to a Chinese media, recently, the tobacco monopoly department in the Hengqin Guangdong-Macau Deep Cooperation Zone, in collaboration with the Jinwan Branch of the Zhuhai Public Security Bureau, successfully cracked the first case in Guangdong Province involving the production and sale of new tobacco products network. The case is valued at over RMB 100 million (approximately USD 14 million).
Based on preliminary clues, the tobacco monopoly department in the cooperation area promptly analyzed and judged the case with the public security department, and deployed a special action plan to crack down on the case. When the timing was right, they swiftly took action and on April 30th at 9:00 am in a technology company in Sanzao Town, Jinwan District, they seized a batch of nicotine for e-cigarettes, weighing 6555.91 kilograms in total and with a net weight of 6152.47 kilograms, valued at approximately 8.6772 million yuan. Two suspects were arrested on the scene.
By examining on-site accounting books, sales records, contracts, and other materials, and questioning individuals involved, law enforcement officials have determined that there may be another related illegal NGPs production site within the technology park.
After continuous in-depth investigation, law enforcement officers successfully uncovered an illegal production site in the industrial park. They seized three semi-automatic labeling machines, one fully automatic labeling machine, one heat shrink machine, two rows of granule packaging machines, and one mixer at the scene. They also found approximately 7,407 cans of finished nicotine pouch products from brands such as PANLO, VELO, and ZYNC. In addition, a large quantity of packaging boxes, raw materials, and semi-finished products related to the case were also seized.
Tobacco enforcement officers are racing against time, working continuously to seize nicotine and related mechanical equipment. As of May 2, the seized nicotine and equipment have been transported and stored in a hazardous chemicals warehouse located in Gaolan Port. The semi-finished nicotine pouch products and related raw materials have all been counted. A total of 3931 semi-finished products and approximately 692.2 kilograms of materials were involved in the case.
According to reports, the practice of nicotine pouch through the mouth is quite popular in countries such as Europe and the United States, but it has not yet become widespread in China. Some criminals have targeted this market for high profits. This case is the first instance of nicotine pouch being seized by the tobacco monopoly system in Guangdong Province.
An investigation has revealed that the seized nicotine in this case originated from Guangxi, where a company was receiving illegally purchased tobacco leaves from Yunnan and extracting nicotine from them. The company involved in this case was purchasing nicotine from upstream enterprises in Guangxi for the production and processing of nicotine-containing products. This exposes a full chain network of illegal tobacco leaf collection, processing, transportation, nicotine extraction, production of nicotine-containing products, and sales, with the amount involved exceeding one billion yuan.
