13 arrested, 15 million yuan involved: Jinhua cracks cross-provincial counterfeit and substandard va

Recently, with strong support from the Zhejiang Provincial Public Security Department and the Zhejiang Provincial Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, the Jinhua Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, in conjunction with the Wucheng Branch of the Jinhua Public Security Bureau, conducted a unified operation across Zhejiang and Hubei provinces to dismantle the illegal operation chain of e-cigarettes, resulting in the arrest of 13 suspects and the seizure of over 130,000 counterfeit e-cigarettes and more than 64,000 pods, as well as the dismantling of 5 production sites, with a case value exceeding 15 million yuan. This case is the first cross-provincial sale of substandard e-cigarettes uncovered in Jinhua this year.

In December last year, the bureau's inspectors discovered that several minors were congregating near schools, using illegal e-cigarettes resembling "milk tea cups". This lead was forwarded to the Jiangnan Branch of the Jinhua Public Security Bureau for investigation. Law enforcement used technical means to trace local sellers in Jinhua, uncovering a wholesale and retail gang of counterfeit e-cigarettes based in Wuhan, Hubei, which sold substandard e-cigarettes nationwide via the internet, posing significant risks.

Image of illegal e-cigarettes seized at the production site

According to feedback from the police and tobacco departments, the current counterfeit e-cigarettes feature novel designs resembling trendy cartoon characters like "Kuromi" and "Violent Bear", and come in unique flavors such as West Lake Longjing, latte coffee, and frosty watermelon, deliberately beautifying the packaging to cater to minors' preferences, directly targeting vulnerable young groups lacking judgment.

After several months of investigation, the police and tobacco departments have basically identified the suspects, vehicles, residences, production and packaging sites, and printing points of the criminal gang, and recently carried out arrest operations.

In fact, in addition to the inherent addictive nature of nicotine in e-cigarettes, various illegally added flavorings and organic substances may lead to respiratory diseases and pose cancer risks. Illegal workshops reduce costs by using industrial waste and medical waste for production, resulting in devices with severely excessive heavy metal content, and some inferior nickel batteries may even cause safety incidents.

The bureau insists on being responsible for its territory and fully undertakes the duty of safeguarding minors. In the current context of organized, large-scale, and networked e-cigarette crimes, it bravely faces difficulties and emphasizes cross-departmental cooperation, multi-clue advancement, horizontal and vertical breakthroughs, and comprehensive regional coverage, significantly enhancing the quality and efficiency of combating counterfeiting and smuggling.

Next, the Jinhua Tobacco Monopoly Bureau will deepen collaboration with public security agencies, thoroughly investigate illegal production and sales of e-cigarettes, and enhance the intensity, breadth, and depth of enforcement. At the same time, it will connect with other relevant departments to regularly establish a "defense matrix" from the perspectives of school education, surrounding market supervision, and e-cigarette legislation, taking multiple measures to protect the healthy growth of minors in a "clean land".