The Secret Inside a Milk Tea Cup

Resembling milk tea and beverages, a highly addictive fruit-flavored vaping product that does not meet mandatory national standards is quietly gaining popularity in the market, particularly among some young people, including students.

Recently, the Xihu Branch of the Nanchang Public Security Bureau in Jiangxi Province cracked a major illegal sales case involving new types of electronic cigarettes. Officers traveled to Hebei, Guangdong, and other places, and with the assistance of local public security agencies, dismantled a cross-province illegal vaping operation, confiscating over 130 varieties of new electronic cigarettes totaling more than 13,000 units, along with over 10,000 pods and vaping devices.

Suspicious "Milk Tea Cups"

“In the milk tea cup, there are various flavors to choose from, such as watermelon, blueberry, strawberry, and mango sago,” “Plush universe, plush strawberry bear, 14,000 units remaining in stock”... In mid-March this year, the Xihu Branch's security team noticed several advertisements in the “Moments” of WeChat during their routine checks, which immediately raised their alert. After careful study, the officers found that the products advertised were very similar to the new types of electronic cigarettes that are explicitly prohibited by national regulations, prompting an immediate investigation.

Due to the high addictiveness of fruit-flavored vaping products, many illegal operators have been selling them online without obtaining the necessary permits, posing a serious threat to the physical and mental health of young people. After receiving this lead, the Xihu Branch quickly established a task force to conduct investigations. Soon, officers traced a large shipment of electronic cigarettes to a residential area within their jurisdiction, suspecting that the illegal vaping sales point might be hidden in that community.

The individuals involved in this operation were highly cautious, not using their real identities for receiving packages, and not specifying exact house numbers in the delivery addresses, only designating pickup locations when contacted by delivery personnel. Officers tracked and verified the suspects' identities over several days in that community.

Cross-Province Pursuit of Suspects

On the evening of March 12, after gathering solid evidence, the Xihu Branch, in conjunction with the tobacco monopoly department, implemented an arrest operation using the “follow the goods” strategy. That day, after a large batch of electronic cigarette deliveries arrived at the suspect's hideout, officers decisively struck, capturing suspects Yi and Zhang, and seizing a large quantity of new electronic cigarettes that had not yet been sold. Officers immediately extracted electronic data from the suspects' phones and analyzed transaction records, quickly identifying their wholesale supplier, Liu.

On March 13, officers hurried to Shenzhen, Guangdong, to carry out arrests. However, Liu, being highly suspicious, repeatedly failed to contact Yi and Zhang, and began moving back and forth between Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Huizhou in Guangdong, never staying in one place for more than a day. During the arrest process, officers repeatedly missed him. On March 20, officers discovered that Liu was driving to Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, and immediately drove north to pursue him, capturing Liu on the evening of March 21 in Shijiazhuang.

On March 22, officers again traveled south to Shenzhen, and on March 24, captured the main member of the gang, Luo, while placing the main supplier, Li, on the wanted list.

Thus, a gang suspected of illegally producing and selling new types of electronic cigarettes in Zhongshan and Huizhou, Guangdong, was dismantled.

Involved Amount Exceeds 20 Million Yuan

Investigations revealed that suspects Yi and Zhang previously operated a physical store selling electronic cigarettes in Nanchang. After the implementation of the mandatory national standard for electronic cigarettes on October 1, 2022, the two did not obtain the necessary sales permits. As the sales of tobacco-flavored electronic cigarettes were far inferior to those of fruit-flavored ones, they closed their physical store and took risks by selling new fruit-flavored electronic cigarettes online in a covert manner. The electronic cigarettes they sold were disguised as “milk tea cups,” “plush toys,” and other forms, making them highly concealed, deceptive, and enticing, with a consumer base primarily consisting of young people, including many students, resulting in significant sales volume.

The special investigation team found that the gang was divided into four levels: “material layer - source assembly, production layer - source agency layer - multi-brand secondary agency, retail layer,” promoting and conducting illegal sales of electronic cigarettes through online platforms.

It is reported that this gang sold new types of electronic cigarettes to various locations including Nanchang in Jiangxi, Yancheng in Jiangsu, Ma'anshan in Anhui, Shenzhen in Guangdong, and Shijiazhuang in Hebei, with the involved amount exceeding 20 million yuan.

Currently, the criminal suspects have been criminally detained in accordance with the law, and the case is still under further investigation. (Chen Xi, Xiao Wei, Wan Kun)