Police Crack Down on Illegal E-cigarettes Worth 41 Million USD in China

According to Modern Law Daily, on May 29th, the public security department in Ganzhou, Jiangxi successfully apprehended 32 suspects involved in the illegal production and sale of e-cigarettes. The case involves a staggering amount of 3 billion RMB (41 Million USD) and has affected more than 10 provinces, including Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Shandong.

Recently, the Development Zone Sub-Bureau of the Ganzhou Public Security Bureau in Jiangxi successfully cracked a major case of illegal production and sale of e-cigarettes, effectively cutting off multiple illegal production, storage, transportation, and sales chains of e-cigarettes, protecting the market order of e-cigarettes and the rights of consumers.

In early 2023, an employment advertisement appearing at a factory in the Economic Development Zone of Ganzhou City caught the attention of local tobacco department officials. The Ganzhou City Public Security Bureau's Development Zone Sub-bureau conducted a preliminary investigation into the matter on March 23 and opened a case for further investigation. A special task force was formed, comprising multiple departments including the Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Investigation Brigade, to assist the tobacco department in fully investigating this case.

On April 6, 2023, after the Ganzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau Development Zone Sub-Bureau had a basic understanding of the personnel organization structure, production and shipment rules, and on-site layout of the factory involved, they collaborated with tobacco enforcement officers and mobilized over 80 police officers to conduct a concentrated crackdown operation, successfully destroying the illegal production base of e-cigarettes.

Nine suspects, including Cui and Zeng, were arrested on the spot, and over 90,000 non-standard e-cigarettes were seized, along with implicated vehicles, e-liquid ingredients, and production packaging machinery, with a total value exceeding 10 million yuan. Two days later, the main suspect Li Gang was arrested at the West Ganzhou Expressway exit.

Through in-depth investigation into criminal clues, the special task force discovered that companies such as You, Ai, and Cheng in Dongguan, Shenzhen were also involved in illegal e-cigarette operations. In order to completely cut off this criminal chain of illegal e-cigarette production and sales, the Development Zone Branch of the Public Security Bureau of Ganzhou City's special task force conducted multiple reconnaissance missions in Dongguan, Shenzhen and other areas from April to July 2023, successfully dismantling multiple illegal e-cigarette production bases operated by You, Ai, Cheng companies, and arresting the main suspect Liang, as well as the managers of two involved companies, Xu and Cao, and 17 others. During the operation, over 9,000 finished e-cigarette products were seized.

On July 28, 2023, Huang Moufeng, the person in charge of a certain company who has been evading capture overseas, and Lei Mouyin, surrendered to the police after being persuaded patiently by the special investigative team. With this, all the main suspects in the case have now been brought to justice.

Due to the large amount of money involved, the complexity of the case, the involvement of multiple individuals, and the broad geographic scope, the case was designated as a priority case by the Ministry of Public Security on September 11, 2023.

According to Liang Guangcai, the deputy brigade leader of the Food and Drug Environmental Investigation Brigade of the Development Zone Branch of the Ganzhou Public Security Bureau, in January 2023, suspects Cui and Liang illegally produced e-cigarettes in a rented factory in the Ganzhou Economic Development Zone without obtaining a production license. They were responsible for contacting business orders and providing technical support, while abusing the factory to expand production with the help of Li and Zeng. At the time of their arrest by the public security organs, the factory had recruited more than 40 employees and had illegally produced over 180,000 e-cigarettes.

On the other hand, as early as October 2022, Li Gang, Zeng Fei, and others collaborated with Dongguan You Company, which did not have an e-cigarette production license, to illegally produce over 450,000 e-cigarettes. By early April 2023, Huang Mengfeng and Lei Yinyin, leaders of Shenzhen Cheng Company, were introduced by Zeng Fei to produce a certain brand of e-cigarettes at a factory in Ganzhou. They also collaborated with Dongguan Aipu Company, which did not have an e-cigarette production license, to illegally produce over 290,000 e-cigarettes.

After verifying the financial transactions of the company involved and the suspects, the police estimate that the amount involved is as high as 300 million yuan. The production and sales regions span over more than 10 provinces including Jiangxi, Guangdong, Henan, Shandong, and Hubei.

It is understood that this is one of the most extensive criminal industry chains successfully cracked by the Jiangxi public security organs in recent years. The illegal e-cigarette operation case includes everything from raw material supply to production storage, and sales in the market. Currently, among the captured suspects, 21 people have been prosecuted, while the remaining involved individuals are on bail pending further investigation.

According to reports, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration seized this opportunity to hold a large-scale conference in Dongguan, Guangdong for the purpose of regulating and promoting the standardized development of the e-cigarette industry.