Cracking Down on Cross-Border E-Cigarette Smuggling: A Success Story

On May 22, 2024, the Intermediate People's Court of Chongzuo City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, issued a judgment that put an end to a more than five-year-long anti-smuggling operation. The ringleader, Zhong, was sentenced to six years and six months in prison for the crime of illegal business operations, fined 200,000 yuan, and had his personal property confiscated. The other seven members of the gang were sentenced to varying prison terms ranging from one to five years.

This case, involving a cross-border, cross-provincial (municipal) e-cigarette export repatriation network with a value exceeding 4 million yuan, is the first criminal case of e-cigarette export repatriation in Guangxi. The innovative tactics of "synthetic combat" and "data breakthrough" employed by the investigators have made the investigation of this case a representative example of combating e-cigarette smuggling at the border.

From "Kite String Break" to "Number Restart".

In the early morning of March 7, 2019, in a small town on the China-Vietnam border in Guangxi, under the cover of night, several porters were seen loading boxes filled with goods onto two heavy duty box trucks at a freight yard.

At this time, a task force composed of law enforcement officers from the Chongzuo City Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and Pingxiang Customs Anti-smuggling Sub-bureau quietly arrived after receiving a tip-off.

Action!" With the order given, law enforcement officers quickly took control of the scene. They tore open the seals on the boxes to reveal 1795 packs of HNB cigarettes and 825 packs of regular cigarettes, with a total estimated value of about 324,000 yuan.

Just as law enforcement officers thought they had uncovered a loophole in a cigarette smuggling network and were ready to start a new battle, the situation took an unexpected turn - although they had locked onto the suspect's phone number, the suspect's identity was difficult to pin down, and the case suddenly became a "headless case.

The Chongzuo City Bureau has not given up and has been working tirelessly to find new leads. However, after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Pingshan logistics channel contracted, and smuggling activities dwindled, causing the investigation into the case to hit a standstill.

A breakthrough occurred after the Spring Festival in 2023 - a previously dormant phone number involved in a case suddenly became active near the Pingxiang border, with its movements closely mirroring those of the phone number related to the 2019 case mentioned earlier.

The Chongzuo Municipal Bureau, in conjunction with relevant departments, will immediately restart the investigation and transfer the clues to the nearest Pingxiang Tobacco Monopoly Bureau for further investigation.

After preliminary investigation, law enforcement officers found that the individuals indicated by the clues were indeed associated with the 2019 case mentioned earlier, but the new lead pointed towards the smuggling of e-cigarettes.

In response to this new situation, the Chongzuo Municipal Public Security Bureau, in conjunction with the Pingxiang Customs Anti-smuggling Sub-bureau, has mobilized elite forces to establish a special task force with the determination to eradicate this smuggling channel for e-cigarettes. This was revealed by Zhong Yizhang, the head of the Chongzuo Municipal Public Security Bureau's special inspection team.

However, the road to investigating the case is full of obstacles. Criminals use a complex model of "remote control from overseas - online distribution and retailing - multi-point subcontracted transportation" to smuggle goods, and they have strong anti-surveillance capabilities - using fake identities, fake license plates, using logistics companies for transportation, and communicating in local dialects... The methods of smuggling are varied, making it difficult for investigators to make progress, and confirming the identities of those involved in the case has become the biggest challenge in the investigation.

Synthetic warfare targets the "third-rate underground channels.

Since 2023, profit-driven smugglers have become increasingly bold, with Pingxiang becoming a "hotspot" for the export and return of e-cigarette products. With the use of new technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and virtual currency, illegal tobacco smuggling activities have become more covert and harder to crack down on.

On July 11, 2023, the "Joint Task Force to Combat Tobacco Smuggling and Other Illegal Activities" established by the Chongzuo Municipal Bureau and Pingxiang Customs Anti-Smuggling Sub-bureau was officially launched at the Pingxiang Customs Anti-Smuggling Sub-bureau.

Relying solely on traditional "stakeouts and checkpoints" is not enough to combat intelligent crime. It is necessary to intensively integrate physical, personnel, and technological defenses in order to effectively and accurately combat it. We actively seek ways to solve problems, using the intelligence networks and team advantages of the customs anti-smuggling department to make up for the shortcomings of the tobacco department in combating smuggling. In this situation, the joint operations room was born. "Operation 7.17" was the first operation of the joint operations room, as explained by Chongzuo City Bureau Chief Wu Jinfu in a recent interview.

The task force has held several case analysis meetings, formulated an investigation approach of "tracing to the source and striking the whole chain", and innovatively constructed a "141" joint governance system. This system utilizes a "1+N" collaborative mechanism, focusing on the four aspects of data-driven operations, information sharing, monitoring and early warning, and precise targeting in order to combat crime effectively. They are employing a set of "three streams and five fixed tactics" - utilizing the flows of information, funds, and goods to penetrate criminal networks, and achieving targeted identification of the nature of the case, suspects involved, criminal evidence, suspect locations, and suspect responsibilities.

Faced with a thick fog created by criminals, the special task force conducted a deep analysis of the "third stream" involved in the case. By retrieving e-cigarette export data, collecting relevant information, and comparing surveillance images, the team ultimately identified the identities, roles, and locations of the suspects. Since December 2022, several suspects involved in the case have been acting suspiciously, with multiple logistics information converging in Nanning, Shenzhen, and Huizhou in Guangxi and Guangdong. These three locations are highly likely to have warehouses or serve as major trading points.

The case has a long duration, involves multiple locations, and complex individuals. To successfully solve it in one go is not an easy task. Not only is it necessary to collect a large amount of solid evidence, but it is also important to thoroughly investigate the illegal activities of the individuals involved in the case.

In this situation, the advantages of centralized analysis and investigation in the synthetic operation room were highlighted, and the direction of the case investigation was quickly clarified. After multiple discussions and consultations, the special task force formulated a meticulous action plan, and an invisible large net was quietly spread out.

The tripartite cooperation in cutting off water diversion in three regions.

At midnight on July 17, 2023, four law enforcement officers arrived at a logistics distribution center in Huizhou, Guangdong. They had traveled overnight by train from Chongzuo and immediately began conducting an inspection after identifying themselves. They discovered a total of 3960 disposable e-cigarettes of 7 different brands suspected of being smuggled on the scene.

It turns out that with the help of shared data, the task force quickly traced a case involving goods being transported from Pingxiang to Huizhou. They then dispatched enforcement officers to intercept it. This successful interception exposed a loophole in the smuggling criminal network, leading to the official launch of a crackdown operation. The task force subsequently codenamed the case "7·17.

After a thorough analysis of big data through the backstage central system, the task force determined that the gang had intentions to commit crimes again, and immediately began surveillance and monitoring. Six days later, on the evening of July 23, the task force carried out simultaneous operations in Nanning and Shenzhen, splitting into two groups to arrest the criminal gang. They seized a total of 6800 illegal disposable e-cigarettes of 7 different varieties, 1 vehicle involved in the case, and arrested 4 suspects. Through intensive interrogation and follow-up actions, all 8 criminal suspects were eventually captured. The investigators seized a total of 10,760 illegal disposable e-cigarettes, worth 850,000 yuan. It was found that the gang invested in purchasing a certain brand of e-cigarettes in Shenzhen, exported them through the Dongxing and Pingxiang Friendship border crossings to Hanoi, Vietnam, and then organized a smuggling operation with local partners in the border area of Chongzuo to smuggle the e-cigarettes back into the country for profit. The court's ruling shattered the dreams of the 8 criminals of making quick money. This once rampant illegal e-cigarette smuggling "dark channel" has been permanently locked on the anti-smuggling map. In November 2024, the "7·17" case successfully applied for national second-level case status, with valuable investigation experiences: -"Cross-border integration" to build defenses. E-cigarette smuggling involves multiple links including production, export, logistics, and retail, requiring breaking down data barriers between relevant departments. Chongzuo Public Security Bureau and Pingxiang Customs Anti-smuggling Branch established a joint operations room, transitioning from separate actions to a unified front. -"Triple penetration" to uncover secrets. Traditional investigative methods are ineffective against smugglers' new tactics. In this case, law enforcement officers tracked fund flows to identify key figures, analyzed information flow to reconstruct the organizational structure, monitored goods flow to secure evidence, forming a "data iron chain". -"Follow the crime and break the chain" to target key points. By focusing on individuals, investigators not only seized physical evidence but also tracked down the masterminds, dismantled networks, captured the main offenders, and severed the criminal chains, conducting a comprehensive attack on smuggling activities.