Unified Operation: Cracking Down on Cross-Provincial E-cigarette Smuggling

Joint operation leads to tracking down a major cross-provincial case.

In recent years, in order to protect minors from the harm of e-cigarettes, Chongming Tobacco has taken the initiative to explore the establishment of a normalized regulatory system for e-cigarettes, collaborating with multiple departments to create a clean and bright future for minors.

On the one hand, we will deepen our cooperation with the education department to continue organizing thematic promotional activities in primary and secondary schools within our jurisdiction. These activities aim to educate young people about the dangers of e-cigarettes, explain relevant laws and regulations, and provide channels for minors to engage in public interest litigation.

On the other hand, we will continue to deepen cooperation with district public security and market supervision departments, especially by fully leveraging the role of the Chongming Public Security's Tobacco Sales Police Office, improving mechanisms such as information exchange, law enforcement coordination, regular meetings, and security support to lay a solid foundation for cracking down on illegal activities related to e-cigarettes.

Supported by the operation mechanism of the police station, efficient communication between the police and the fire brigade, and the sharing of information analysis and judgment, the massive illegal e-cigarette network case was successfully detected on November 7th.

In August 2022, the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau in Chongming District received a tip-off: someone in the city was selling e-cigarettes through a WeChat Group and delivering them through courier services. This immediately raised concerns among enforcement officers, who then collaborated with the police department to analyze and assess the information.

On November 7, 2022, after a thorough investigation, it was discovered that Wu Mouqiu and others in the urban area were suspected of selling counterfeit e-cigarettes under the disguise of LARP. This came shortly after the official implementation of the "E-cigarette Management Measures" and the national standard for e-cigarettes. In order to strengthen the regulation of e-cigarettes in accordance with the law and achieve the goal of "striking one, deterring all," the Chongming District Bureau, under the guidance of the Shanghai Tobacco Monopoly Inspection Detachment and the Economic Investigation Brigade of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, officially established the "11.07" special task force to jointly advance the in-depth investigation of the case.

In January 2023, after identifying the patterns of illegal activities of certain individuals, a special task force decided to conduct an inspection operation at their storage den. A total of 136 types of e-cigarettes, totaling 2378, were discovered on site, with a total value exceeding 160,000 CNY. Two suspects, including Wu Mouqiu, were arrested.

This is the first case in the '11·07' online case, and it is also the first e-cigarette case discovered by the Chongming Tobacco Administration since the implementation of the 'E-cigarette Management Measures'. During the handling of the case, we encountered many new situations." said Fei Wenyu, the head of the Chongming District Special Inspection Detachment. "Just in the process of sorting and counting, the investigators overcame a series of difficulties such as lack of reference in operational procedures, outdated database of items involved in the case, and lack of basis for estimating the value of physical evidence, and also accumulated relevant experience.

The successful first battle has greatly inspired the investigators. Following the work requirements of "cutting off the point, breaking the source, dismantling the network, and capturing the mastermind," identifying the source and dismantling the network are the key focus in further expanding the achievements of the operation.

Subsequently, the task force used Wu Mouqiu as a breakthrough to follow up on leads and investigate further. Soon, Wu Mouqiu's accomplice in Guangdong, Feng Mouyou, came into the focus of the task force. At the end of January 2023, a special task force of four advance members decisively embarked on a journey to Foshan, Guangdong.

Persistently delving deep to combat the issue

On February 3, 2023, in a rural area of Foshan, the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year has not yet dissipated.

Outside the village where Feng Mouyou lived, the officers working on the case had been squatting in the car for 48 hours without a break. "At the time, it was during the Chinese New Year period and Feng Mouyou's whereabouts were uncertain." Zhou Chenfei, the leader of the special task force and the director of the Chongming District Bureau's Special Inspection Mobile Squadron, said that in order to find Feng Mouyou, they resorted to "old-fashioned methods" - conducting surveillance and secretly conducting perimeter investigations.

Hard work pays off. At dusk, a car suddenly stopped next to the supermarket at the village entrance, and a person got out. "Look, isn't that Feng Moyou?" The appearance of the target person swept away the fatigue of the investigators over the past few days.

The person has been found, but where is the warehouse? Investigators have been tirelessly tracking Feng's movements day and night. However, after several days have passed without any unusual activity being discovered, this has dampened their hopes.

Until one day, when technicians reviewed the social connections of Feng You, they discovered that his frequent contact from the same hometown, Feng Gangan, was likely his business partner. Coincidentally, a friend of Feng Gangan posted a message on their personal social network account mentioning a 'warehouse,' with pictures of banana trees, metal shacks, and an advertisement for hand-squeezed lemon tea. Could this be the 'warehouse' we are looking for? Although the clues were vague, no lead could be overlooked. Zhou Chenfei said that law enforcement immediately focused on the village as the center, comparing key information within a 75 square kilometer radius, and eventually discovered the warehouse where the suspect was hiding illegal e-cigarettes.

As they were preparing to close the net, the special task force received another lead: Feng Moyou, who had not traded for a long time, used a coded message to indicate that a batch of packaging boxes would be shipped to Ding Mou in Huizhou, Guangdong. After analysis, the special task force believes that Feng Moyou not only has a warehouse, but also a supplier, and that Ding Mou is very likely an illegal manufacturer.

Speed is of the essence in military affairs. The investigators immediately split into two groups, with one staying in Foshan and the other rushing to Huizhou, 150 kilometers away. As expected, in Huizhou, the investigators discovered a standalone villa on the outskirts frequented by suspicious individuals. In the middle of the night, the air was occasionally filled with the smell of low-quality e-liquid.

This is the production base for counterfeit e-cigarettes!" the investigators determined. To avoid alerting the suspects, the investigators continued to monitor them comprehensively and around the clock, collecting evidence on one hand and preparing to make arrests on the other.

In the forefront, officers are racing thousands of miles; in the background, they are providing strong support. Through the use of technological investigation and field reconnaissance, and with an unwavering determination, the officers have worked tirelessly, staying out in the elements, unraveling every detail, and fighting through the night. They have successfully connected scattered clues to create a clearer picture of the network of individuals involved in the case.

Investigations reveal that Feng, a distributor, supplied goods to retailers in Guangdong's Dongguan, Shanghai's Changning, Zhejiang's Hangzhou, and Wenzhou through internet platforms, while Ding in Huizhou, Guangdong, was the main culprit behind the production site.

All is prepared, only awaiting the sword to be unsheathed.

With a series of evidence supporting them, the task force has decided to increase their manpower. They have mobilized a total of 62 personnel from Chongming Tobacco and Chongming Public Security, dividing them into 5 groups to travel to Guangdong's Foshan, Huizhou, and Dongguan, as well as Zhejiang's Hangzhou and Wenzhou, in order to carry out arrest operations.

On February 15th and 16th, 2023, a special task force successfully apprehended a total of 14 criminal suspects following the issuance of arrest warrants. They dismantled 9 illegal e-cigarette production and storage locations and seized a total of 125,000 illegal disposable e-cigarettes, pods, and smoking paraphernalia. Additionally, they confiscated 384.2 kilograms of e-liquid, several e-cigarette production tools, with a total estimated value of over 11 million yuan.

From January 31 to February 16, this operation broke the record for the longest time spent by police officers and tobacco sales personnel investigating cases in other provinces. A total of 80 officers were dispatched by the tobacco police for the investigation, making it the largest operation in the history of tobacco-related cases in Chongming. Chongming District Director Xu Yuanqing said.

Exterminate evil and follow the clues to continuously expand the achievements.

While carrying out operations to crack down on the sources, the special task force did not give up on uncovering the illegal e-cigarette network. "After Feng surrendered, based on our analysis of the upstream production and distribution networks, we continued to expand our achievements by tracking down the downstream distributors related to this case," said Han Yang, deputy director of Chongming District Bureau.

Based on the statements of the criminal suspect and the big data analysis of the individuals involved, the special task force further identified three distribution groups led by Xiao Moyuan, Huang Monan, and Wang Mo in addition to Feng Moyou. It then decided to investigate these groups in depth and dismantle them one by one in order to completely destroy this criminal network.

From June to August 2023, the task force successively went to Shanghai Changning, Chongming, Jinshan, and Wuxi, Kunshan in Jiangsu Province to investigate and gather evidence. They successfully arrested and brought back 10 criminal suspects including Xiao Moyuan and Huang Monan, seizing 115,000 illegal e-cigarettes on the scene, with a total value of over 4.76 million yuan.

The "capture" phase in the latter stage has become much more difficult than before. Suspects have further strengthened their precautions, mostly using the method of "ants moving house," increasing the frequency of purchases while reducing the quantity purchased each time. They also leave fewer traces and make it harder to trace the source, requiring the special task force to expend more manpower and resources to track them down. When arresting the retailer Bao in Shuyang, Jiangsu, due to his unusual cunning, it took investigators two weeks of investigation and stakeouts to finally pinpoint the target.

But even the craftiest fox cannot outsmart a skilled hunter. The task force showed determination and courage with the motto "we will not rest until Loulan is solved", carrying out both front-line surveillance and back-end interrogations, constantly expanding leads and increasing the success rate.

During this period, in order to completely dismantle this large illegal criminal network, the Ministry of Public Security and the National Bureau have classified the case as a ministerial level priority case, requiring strengthened coordination and cooperation among relevant provincial (city) investigative forces to quickly apprehend the main suspects, solidify all evidence, and form a chain of evidence to ensure the effectiveness of the crackdown.

In October 2023, a special task force arrested suspect Chen Xinxin in Shanghai. In March 2024, the task force arrested Chen Xinxin's suppliers Wang and Jin Hao in Sichuan. In June 2024, through the Ministry of Public Security's "Operation Fox Hunt", the entire criminal network's supplier Chen was deported back to China and brought to trial. During interrogation, Chen confessed to all illegal activities and identified his subordinates one by one.

At this point, a full-chain illegal e-cigarette network that combined production, storage, distribution, and transactions utilizing internet platforms and logistics has been successfully dismantled by the special task force.