How 180 useless fire extinguishers expose a 1.2m fake unit ring and $660,000 bribery scheme in Hanoi

The Hanoi People’s Procuracy has issued an indictment against nine defendants in the case involving the production and sale of counterfeit Dragon-brand fire extinguishers.

The case file has been transferred to the municipal People’s Court, with a first-instance trial scheduled for November 11.

Among the defendants, Dang Quoc Hoang, 52, director of Vietlink Service Trading Production JSC, Phung Huu Loi, 43, director of An Phu Electrical and Lighting JSC, and Dong Liang, a 42-year-old Chinese national, have been charged with manufacturing and trading counterfeit goods.

Pham Duc Canh, former director of a firefighting and prevention construction enterprise, Pham Thi Huong, director of Phuong Nam Prevent and Fight Fire Tech Company, and Dang Kim Tuu, head of Phuong Nam Company’s fire prevention and firefighting equipment inspection division, have been charged with accepting bribes.

The remaining three defendants have been charged with falsifying official documents.

180 fire extinguishers worth over $2,440 failed to extinguish fire

According to the indictment, in September 2025, Bui Duy Long, a resident of Hanoi, filed a complaint with the Hanoi police investigative agency under the municipal Department of Public Security after discovering that Dragon-brand fire extinguishers he had purchased failed to put out a fire when used.

Long had bought a total of 180 fire extinguishers of various types, worth more than VND63 million ($2,440), from Bach Thang Trading and Import-Export Company and Hoang Anh Equipment Materials Company.

Bach Thang supplied 110 extinguishers with capacities of four and eight kilograms, while Hoang Anh sold the remaining 70 units, including 20-kilogram and six-kilogram extinguishers, as well as eight-kilogram spherical fire extinguishers.

After receiving the complaint, police collected the extinguishers submitted by Long and sent them for examination to determine whether they met the required quality standards.

Testing by the Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Criminal Science found that the sampled Dragon-brand dry powder extinguishers did not contain two of the fire-suppressing compounds listed on their packaging: monoammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate.

The forensic agency concluded that the extinguishers were counterfeit because their fire-suppressing agent content failed to meet the required specifications.

The findings prompted Hanoi police to expand the probe, uncovering a large-scale operation involving the production and distribution of counterfeit fire extinguishers through multiple businesses in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Tay Ninh Province.

During a search of a factory in the expanded Hai Son Industrial Park in Tay Ninh, investigators seized 53,700 Dragon-brand fire extinguishers, 6,400 units bearing the 990 brand, tens of thousands of empty cylinders, thousands of kilograms of fire-extinguishing powder and machinery and materials used in production.

At warehouses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, investigators also confiscated tens of thousands of Dragon-brand extinguishers and related products.

Further examinations confirmed that multiple batches of Dragon dry powder extinguishers were counterfeit as their total content of fire-suppressing agents did not meet the required standards.

According to the asset valuation findings, the 135,400 dry powder extinguishers seized during the investigation were valued at more than VND41.4 billion ($1.6 million).

Over 1.27 million counterfeit extinguishers sold

Investigators determined that in 2016, Hoang and Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, 48, established Vietlink to trade firefighting and prevention equipment under the Dragon brand.

Initially, the company imported finished fire extinguishers from China for domestic sale.

From 2019, Vietlink partnered with a company in Shandong, China, to import fire-extinguishing powder with insufficient concentrations of active agents, along with cylinders, machinery and components, to manufacture extinguishers in Vietnam.

The factory was initially located in Thach That-Quoc Oai Industrial Park in Hanoi before being relocated to the expanded Hai Son Industrial Park in Tay Ninh in southern Vietnam.

According to the indictment, Ngan oversaw the company’s overall operations, while Hoang directly managed production, raw materials, finished goods shipments and factory employees.

The Chinese partner also sent Dong Liang to Vietnam to coordinate and supervise manufacturing activities.

In late 2024, production operations were transferred to An Phu Company, headed by Loi.

However, the factory and fire extinguisher production line continued operating.

Prosecutors allege that Vietlink manufactured and sold more than one million counterfeit Dragon dry powder extinguishers, generating revenue of over VND344 billion ($13.3 million).

In 2025, An Phu continued the operation, producing and selling 226,500 counterfeit Dragon dry powder extinguishers, with revenue totaling VND118 billion ($4.6 million).

Together, the two companies allegedly manufactured and sold more than 1.27 million counterfeit dry powder fire extinguishers, generating total revenue of over VND460 billion ($17.9 million).

Of particular concern, the substandard products were issued inspection certificates indicating that they met quality requirements, allowing them to be sold on the market.

Over $660,000 in bribes to secure quality certification

From June 2023, Vietlink contracted Phuong Nam Company to inspect its fire extinguishers, according to the indictment.

Canh directly managed Phuong Nam’s operations, although the company was legally established and headed by Huong.

To ensure that the substandard extinguishers received passing inspection results, Ngan allegedly agreed to make payments to Canh outside the terms of the formal contract.

In return, Canh allegedly instructed employees to collect samples and conduct inspections in violation of established procedures, producing results that falsely indicated the products met quality standards.

This enabled the extinguishers to receive inspection certificates and enter the market.

The alleged bribes were calculated on a per-unit basis.

From June 2023 to December 2024, the payments amounted to VND8,000 ($0.3) per dry powder extinguisher.

From January to September 2025, the rate increased to VND10,000 ($0.38) per unit.

Prosecutors determined that Ngan had paid more than VND17 billion ($660,000) in bribes.

Of that amount, Canh allegedly received nearly VND15 billion ($580,650), while Huong received more than VND2.2 billion ($79,350).

Investigators also found that Ngan had paid money to individuals at other agencies and organizations beyond the bribery conduct detailed in the case.

The indictment cited suspected payments to individuals at the Bureau of Science, Strategy and History of the Public Security, the Police Division of Fire Prevention and Fighting and Rescue under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Public Security and several units.

Given the complexity of the alleged conduct and its links to multiple agencies and organizations, the Hanoi police investigative agency decided to separate these acts and related evidence from the current case and transfer them to the Ministry of Public Security’s Criminal Police Department for further investigation and handling within its jurisdiction.

Investigators have also charged Ngan with manufacturing and trading counterfeit goods and giving bribes.

Because Ngan fled, investigators have separated the allegations involving her for continued investigation and subsequent handling.