Vietnam police bust massive e-cigarette trading ring, seize 50,000 products

The criminal police division under the Ha Tinh Department of Public Security announced that during their probe, investigators identified several social media accounts suspected of organizing large-scale illegal sales of e-cigarettes.

The group operated through a closed and sophisticated system, frequently changing accounts and discussion groups while relying on multiple intermediaries to conduct transactions and transport goods.

Those involved did not publicly disclose warehouse locations or storage sites.

Orders, payments, and management of sales were handled through closed online groups.

After being imported, the goods were distributed and hidden across multiple warehouses, while several individuals were assigned to manage storage, packaging, and delivery, according to the probe.

Financial transactions were funneled through numerous personal bank accounts before being quickly legitimized to obscure the origin of the funds, police said.

Police determined that from mid-2023, Nguyen Tuan Anh, a 33-year-old resident of Hanoi, and his younger brother Nguyen Viet Anh, 32, organized the trading of various e-cigarette products, including vape devices, vaping oil, cartridges, and disposable pods.

Initially, the suspects sold directly to customers.

However, they later shifted to online trading through social media platforms to evade detection.

Despite being fully aware that from January 1, 2025, Vietnam started to ban the storage, sale, transportation, and use of e-cigarettes, the brothers allegedly continued importing and distributing the products due to the substantial profits involved.

Police found the two men directly contacted multiple local and international suppliers to source e-cigarettes, components, and vaping oil.

The goods were then transported to several warehouses in An Khanh Commune, Hanoi and other locations.

The brothers also recruited numerous collaborators to handle sales, warehouse management and delivery, and organize packaging and shipment according to online orders.

Searches conducted at four warehouses led to the seizure of 136 boxes containing nearly 50,000 e-cigarette products of various types, worth more than VND8.7 billion.

The investigative police agency under the provincial department on Thursday decided to charge five suspects, including Tuan Anh, Viet Anh, Hoang Duc Giang from Ninh Binh Province, Nguyen Duc Hao from Lang Son Province, and Nguyen Duc Trinh from Bac Ninh Province, with trading banned goods.

Vietnam’s law-making National Assembly passed a resolution on November 30, 2024, banning the production, trade, import, and use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) nationwide from January 1, 2025.