Vietnamese Authorities Crack Down on Illegal E-cigarette Sales

According to Vietnamese media Laodong on June 20th, on June 19th, the Economic Crime and Duty Crime Investigation Police Team (DTTP), Drug Crime Investigation Police Team, Hong Hai Ward Police Station, and the 1st team of the Market Management Bureau in Guangning Province conducted a joint inspection at The Vape Club e-cigarette sales store located in Area 2B of Monbay District in Nha Trang City, Vietnam.

During the inspection, they discovered 179 foreign-made e-cigarette machines, 62 bottles of e-cigarette liquid, with a total value of approximately 23 million Vietnamese dong ($903.63). The shop owner, P.T.L.T (real name), was unable to present any invoices or relevant documents during the inspection. The owner admitted that all the products were purchased mainly through online transactions after being circulated in the market, and then displayed and sold in the store to make a profit.

On the same afternoon, the Department of Traffic and Transportation Police (DTTP) conducted a joint inspection with the Tea City Police Department in front of the Moc Tra Hotel on Ngoc Chau Road in Tuần Châu Ward, Phường Tuần Châu. The inspection was conducted on a motorbike with license plate number 14AP - 002xx. During the inspection, they discovered 152 e-cigarette pods and 61 bottles of e-cigarette liquid in the motorbike's trunk that did not have invoices or relevant documents.

Afterwards, the Tanhe District police cooperated with the market management team to carry out a surprise inspection of a shop in Tanhe Town, where they found 30 boxes of various e-cigarette devices and 16 bottles of e-cigarette liquid. The owner of the business, T.V.T (real name), was unable to provide invoices and related documents proving the legal source of the products. The labels on the products did not indicate the place of production or importation, making it impossible to determine the origin of the goods. The total value of the products, according to the pricing in the store, was 12 million Vietnamese dong (471.46 US dollars). The on-site task force has imposed an administrative fine of 5 million Vietnamese dong (196.44 US dollars) on the business owner for selling goods of unclear origin.

The relevant agencies are conducting further investigations and handling of the three cases mentioned above in accordance with legal regulations.