Crackdown on Illegal E-Cigarette Business in Gansu Province

Recently, the Gan Ning County Public Security Bureau in Gansu province successfully cracked down on an illegal e-cigarette operation. Four suspects have been apprehended, dismantling a chain involved in the production and sale of counterfeit e-cigarettes. Two locations where the production and sale took place have been shut down, and five mobile phones used in the commission of the crimes have been confiscated. The investigation also resulted in the seizure of over 15,000 finished e-cigarette products and more than 30,000 miscellaneous e-cigarette components. The estimated value of the case is over one million yuan.

In mid-July, the Public Security Bureau's Security Division in Huining County received a clue from the County Tobacco Bureau regarding suspected illegal individuals selling a large quantity of counterfeit e-cigarettes online. Upon receiving the report, the Security Division immediately organized police forces to investigate and handle this clue.

A criminal gang engaged in the illegal production and sale of counterfeit e-cigarettes, operating across several provinces and cities in China, has been uncovered by investigating police officers who focused their efforts on tracing the flow of funds and logistics. After gathering clues and conducting thorough analysis, the roles and activities of the gang members involved in the entire production and sales process were identified. Consequently, the public security department recently carried out simultaneous operations to crack down on various illegal e-cigarette processing and storage sites in Shenzhen, Guangdong, as well as organizing arrests in Huzhou, Zhejiang, Foshan, and Dongguan in Guangdong province.

According to the investigation, a criminal gang has been discovered operating illegal e-cigarette production sites in Dongguan, Guangdong and other areas, using a processing model that involves the assembly of raw materials. They have been illegally providing e-cigarette manufacturing services to upstream distributors. Subsequently, they have engaged in illicit online transactions of e-cigarettes through platforms such as Taobao and WeChat. The preliminary estimate of the value involved in the case is over one million yuan. Currently, four suspects have been placed under criminal coercive measures by Huining County Public Security Bureau, and the case is still under further investigation.