Key Points
- The case is a criminal investigation involving 23 suspects, 13 executed arrest warrants, about 600,000 seized vapes and asset restraints covering property and bank accounts. The alleged offences carry potential prison terms of up to 10 years.
- European regulatory records from 2024 identify an 18-ml FUMOT RandM Tornado 9000 manufactured by Shenzhen Fumot Technology Co., Ltd. Some packaging visible in German enforcement images resembles publicly available FUMOT products.
- FUMOT founder and general manager Yang Kaiying, known as Sunny Yang, has been publicly described as directly involved in overseas pricing, channel and agency decisions. Company recruitment materials and public sales activity also show direct overseas channel development.
- German vape importer and distribution company Zamu-Pro GmbH appeared in RandM documentation in 2024. Current German product listings identify FUMOT as manufacturer and Zamu-Pro as importer, while the two companies also appear at the same ShishaMesse Frankfurt booth.
Editor’s Note: German authorities have not named the Chinese manufacturer involved in the case. Information concerning FUMOT and Zamu-Pro is drawn from public records, and German judicial and enforcement authorities have not publicly identified either company as involved in the case.
2Firsts
September 21, 2026
The Essen Customs Investigation Office said on Sept. 18 that, under the direction of ZeOS NRW, the Central Office for the Prosecution of Organised Crime at the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office, authorities were investigating a cross-border network suspected of organised crime. The network allegedly brought nicotine-containing disposable e-cigarettes produced in China into Germany on a systematic basis and distributed them through the black market.
The matter is being handled as a criminal investigation. German authorities said 23 suspects are under investigation for large-scale gang-based tax evasion and commercial gang-based handling of untaxed goods. The alleged offences carry statutory prison terms ranging from six months to 10 years.
German authorities described one part of the alleged network as a manufacturer-side group consisting of four employees of an unnamed Chinese e-cigarette producer. Authorities allege that the group established a sales structure involving agents and wholesalers to export vapes illegally to Germany.
Another 19 suspected members based in Germany allegedly formed buyer networks that received, stored and redistributed the products.
Between January 2024 and March 2025, the manufacturer-side structure allegedly brought more than 7.6 million nicotine disposable vapes into Germany, causing an estimated €33.3 million excise-tax loss. German buyer networks allegedly obtained untaxed e-cigarettes with a merchandise value of about €11 million.
Authorities executed 13 arrest warrants and seized more than 100 pallets containing about 600,000 illegal vapes, representing an estimated tax loss of roughly €4 million.
They also seized or froze four properties, a high-value vehicle, luxury watches, gold jewellery and gold bars, seized more than €2.25 million in cash, and froze 37 bank accounts whose balances had not yet been disclosed. Representatives of the European Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF, participated in the operation.
Authorities said the networks operated in Cologne and the Bergisches Land region, the northern Ruhr area, the Koblenz area and Wesel district, as well as Frankfurt and Stuttgart.
Investigators also allege that proceeds were transferred back to China or to other foreign accounts through shell companies.
German authorities have not named the Chinese manufacturer or released a full inventory of brands and SKUs seized in the case.
Some Packaging in Enforcement Images Resembles FUMOT Products
Images released by German authorities show large quantities of boxed and shelved disposable vapes. Some visible packaging shares design features with publicly available products from FUMOT’s RandM Tornado and Digital Box lines.
The images do not allow every brand name or SKU to be read clearly, and authorities have not released a product inventory identifying the seized brands.
European Regulators Recorded an 18-ml FUMOT RandM Product in 2024
On Jan. 18, 2024, the Czech Ministry of Health listed the FUMOT RandM Tornado 9000 as a dangerous product. The public notice states that the product contained 2% nicotine and 18 ml of liquid, including Banana Custard and Ice Pop variants.
A separate Czech regulatory document published in November 2024 identified Shenzhen Fumot Technology Co., Ltd. as the manufacturer and listed specifications including an 18-ml capacity, 2% nicotine and Type-C charging.
Those records overlap with the January 2024-to-March 2025 period cited in the German investigation. Large-capacity RandM disposable products manufactured by FUMOT were already appearing in European regulatory records during the same period.
The Czech regulatory records concern product-capacity and labelling compliance, while the German case concerns alleged illegal imports and excise-tax offences. They involve separate legal issues.
Sunny Yang Directly Participated in Overseas Channel Decisions as FUMOT Expanded Through Agents
Public FUMOT materials show direct company involvement in overseas channel development and agency management.
An interview published by Manager magazine described FUMOT founder and general manager Yang Kaiying (Sunny Yang) as directly involved in overseas pricing, channel, agency and business-target decisions, while frequently visiting frontline markets. The report also said that at a European trade show in early 2025, Yang personally handled objections from an existing agent over the addition of new agency rights.
At the EVO NXT trade show in Spain in April 2024, Yang, then identified as FUMOT’s sales director, told 2Firsts that the company’s core strategy in Spain was to support agents and develop the market together with them. She said FUMOT already had business in Western and Northern Europe and viewed Spain as a key market for further expansion into Southern Europe.
FUMOT said at the time that its revenue in Spain exceeded RMB9 million, or about $1.2 million, in 2023, and that it aimed to triple local revenue in 2024.
FUMOT recruitment materials describe overseas country-manager and sales roles as responsible for developing national markets, analysing regulations and competitors, building distributor and retailer relationships, expanding sales channels and managing sales teams. Europe is specifically highlighted in its GTM recruitment materials.
Public activity by FUMOT sales personnel provides a more specific example of overseas market development.
Jimmy Yan describes himself on LinkedIn as Head of Global Sales at RandM Vape/VOME/Supbliss and lists Shenzhen Fumot Technology Co., Ltd. as his employer. One public sales post promoted the RandM Crystal 12000 with a 20-ml capacity, 12,000 puffs and 200 units per carton, while offering DDP shipping to the UK, Europe and the US.
Under standard international trade terminology, DDP, or Delivered Duty Paid, means the seller handles import clearance and bears the relevant duties and taxes. In China’s cross-border vape logistics trade, the term is also commonly used for an all-in service covering customs clearance, taxes and final delivery, often referred to in Chinese industry jargon as shuangqing baoshui, or “double customs clearance with taxes included.” Importer-of-record, declaration and tax-payment arrangements can vary between routes.
Across management decisions, recruitment roles and public sales activity, FUMOT’s public materials describe overseas operations involving agents, distributors, retailers and cross-border logistics.
Zamu-Pro Appeared in RandM Records During the 2024 Investigation Window
Public German records place German vape importer and distribution company Zamu-Pro GmbH in the RandM product chain during the period covered by the investigation.
A safety data sheet dated May 6, 2024, for the RandM Tornado 7000 lists the supplier as:
ZAMU PRO GmbH Ellerbruchstr. 105a 46284 Dorsten
The document also names Murat Gökcen as a contact.
The document falls within the January 2024-to-March 2025 period identified by German investigators.
Current German market records show a direct commercial relationship between FUMOT and Zamu-Pro. Multiple RandM Tornado nicotine-salt liquid listings at German retailer Kautabak identify Shenzhen Fumot Technology Co., Ltd. as manufacturer and Zamu Pro GmbH as importer.
Those listings concern 10-ml nicotine-salt liquids rather than the large-capacity disposable vapes cited in the historical German investigation. The product information reflects the current manufacturer-importer relationship in the German RandM business.
The commercial relationship also appears in German trade-show records. The official ShishaMesse Frankfurt exhibitor directory lists FUMOT and Zamu Pro GmbH at the same booth, 6D06.
Public records document FUMOT/RandM and Zamu-Pro at several points in time: Zamu-Pro appeared in German RandM documentation in 2024; current product listings identify FUMOT as manufacturer and Zamu-Pro as importer; and both companies have appeared together at the same German trade-show booth.
Zamu-Pro Public Addresses Overlap With Officially Named Investigation Regions
The Zamu-Pro address in the May 2024 RandM Tornado 7000 safety data sheet was in Dorsten, within Germany’s northern Ruhr region. The northern Ruhr area is one of the regions named in the German investigation.
Later RandM product materials also associated Zamu-Pro with an address in Schermbeck, which lies in Wesel district. Wesel district is also among the areas identified in the German case announcement.
German authorities have not disclosed which specific businesses, warehouses or individuals in Dorsten or Schermbeck are part of the investigation.
From Product Seizure to Criminal Enforcement: Investigators Follow People, Channels, Assets and Money
The German investigation extends beyond the products themselves.
The official announcement describes manufacturer employees, sales agents, wholesalers, German buyer networks, storage facilities, excise-tax liabilities and money flows. Investigators allege that proceeds were transferred back to China or to other foreign accounts through shell companies.
Authorities also imposed asset restraints covering real estate, a high-value vehicle, cash, precious metals and 37 bank accounts.
The investigation therefore extends beyond product capacity, nicotine strength and TPD notification requirements to importer roles, excise-tax liabilities, local agents and wholesalers, warehousing, onward sales, personnel and money flows across the overseas distribution network.
In this case, German authorities are simultaneously following products, people, distribution channels, taxation, assets and money flows.
German Authorities Have Not Named the Chinese Manufacturer
From enforcement-scene product appearance and 2024 European regulatory records to FUMOT’s European agency structure, public sales activity and Zamu-Pro’s role in the German RandM business, public records show several points of overlap with the disclosed product, timing, distribution and geographic context of the case.
German prosecutors, customs authorities and courts have not publicly identified FUMOT as the unnamed Chinese manufacturer. Nor have they publicly identified Zamu-Pro or any known FUMOT employee as part of the alleged network.
The public record confirms that FUMOT-related products were present in the European market during the period under investigation and that FUMOT has an established commercial relationship with German RandM distribution channels. Whether FUMOT or its commercial partners have any direct connection to the German criminal case remains subject to further disclosure by German judicial or enforcement authorities.
Follow 2Firsts for timely updates on global tobacco and nicotine regulation, market developments and industry trends.
Cover Image: An enforcement scene released by the Essen Customs Investigation Office. German authorities said about 600,000 illegal vapes were seized in the operation. Authorities have not released a full list of brands or SKUs. Source: Essen Customs Investigation Office
Disclaimer
This article is provided solely for professional research, industry discussion, and informational purposes. Any references to brands, companies, products, technologies, or policies are made for factual reporting and analytical purposes only, and do not constitute endorsement, recommendation, promotion, or advertising by 2Firsts.
Nicotine-containing products, including but not limited to cigarettes, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches, carry significant health risks. Readers are responsible for complying with all applicable laws and regulations in their respective jurisdictions, including age restrictions and access limitations.
The information contained in this article should not be regarded as investment, legal, medical, regulatory, or commercial advice. While 2Firsts strives to ensure the accuracy and reliability of its content, it does not assume liability for any direct or indirect loss arising from errors, omissions, inaccuracies, or reliance on the information contained herein.
This article is not intended for individuals below the legal age for accessing tobacco or nicotine-related information in their jurisdiction.
Copyright Notice
This article is either original content produced by 2Firsts or content reproduced, translated, summarized, or adapted from third-party sources with attribution where applicable. The intellectual property rights of the original content remain with 2Firsts or the respective original rights holders.
No individual or organization may copy, reproduce, distribute, republish, modify, translate, or otherwise use this content without prior authorization. Any unauthorized use may result in legal action.
For copyright-related inquiries, corrections, or removal requests, please contact: info@2firsts.com.
AI-Assisted Translation and Editing Notice
Portions of this article may have been translated, edited, or reviewed with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools to improve efficiency and readability. Due to the limitations of AI-assisted translation and editing, discrepancies, omissions, or inaccuracies may exist when compared with the original source.
Where applicable, readers are advised to refer to the original source for the most complete and accurate information. If you identify any errors or believe that any content infringes upon your rights, please contact us at info@2firsts.com, and we will review and address the matter promptly.
