Tag: black market

Joint Operation Nets $76 Million in Illicit Vapes

Credit: Eduardo Barraza
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), announced the administrative seizure of approximately three million units of illegal vaping products.
The products have an estimated retail value of $76 million. The seizures were part of a July joint operation to examine incoming shipments and prevent illegal e-cigarettes from entering the country.
“The FDA is on high alert and, in coordination with our federal partners, remains committed to stopping unauthorized e-cigarettes at our nation’s borders,” said FDA Commissioner Robert Califf. “These products too often end up in kids’ hands, and the newly formed federal task force is well positioned to collectively combat this unscrupulous activity.”
In June, the FDA and the Department of Justice announced a joint federal task force to curb the distribution and sale of illegal e-cigarettes. Operations like these are an example of ongoing law enforcement work across federal agencies, which are now increasing in frequency with the creation of the task force.
“CBP’s trade enforcement mission places a significant emphasis on intercepting illicit products that could harm American consumers,” said Troy A. Miller, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner for CBP. “We will continue to work with our enforcement partners to identify and seize unsafe and unlawful goods.”
In preparation for the operation, the joint team worked for several months to review shipping invoices, identify potentially violative incoming shipments, and complete other investigative work that led to this successful operation, according to a press release.
Upon examining shipments, all of which originated in China, the team found various brands of illegal e-cigarettes, including Geek Bar and others. In an attempt to evade duties and detection, most of these unauthorized e-cigarettes were intentionally mis-declared as items with no connection to vaping products and with incorrect values.
Products that are seized and forfeited to the government will be disposed of in accordance with CBP authorities.
“This isn’t the first joint seizure operation, and it won’t be the last – we will continue to relentlessly pursue those attempting to smuggle illegal e-cigarettes,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “The $76 million these bad actors just put in the dumpster should be a sobering reminder that their time and money would be better spent complying with the law.”
October 22, 2024
Philippine Raids Net Multiple Illicit Vape Sellers

Nationwide raids in the Philippines uncovered illicit seller 408 sellers vape products, whose operations are unregistered or whose products do not carry the appropriate revenue stamps, reports Business World.
illicit retailers and resellers were found not only in metropolitan Manilla, but also in other places, including Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan and Benguet.
Beginning June 1, the BIR required all vape manufacturers and sellers to affix internal revenue stamps on their products to indicate tax compliance.
Republic Act 11900 instructs the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to order the immediate recall, ban or seizure from public sale or distribution of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products or novel tobacco products not registered with the BIR, including those sold online.
The BIR intends to conduct regulator raids on illegal vape sellers. “I have ordered weekly raids against illicit vape retailers, wherever they may be found,” said BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr.
In the first half of the year, the BIR estimated foregone revenue of around PHP7.2 billion ($124.47 million) from seized vape and tobacco products.
October 22, 2024
Thailand: Police Seize $300,000 in Illegal Vapes

Credit: Natanaelginting.
Police conducted a raid on a warehouse owned by a major online e-cigarette dealer in northern Thailand, YAI VAPE, confiscating 30,000 items valued at 10 million baht ($291,000).
The police discovered e-cigarettes disguised as toys to evade detection. The Ministry of Public Health is advocating for legislative changes to close legal loopholes, according to media reports.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Nirundorn disclosed that the inquiry commenced with the discovery of the website yaivapeth.com, which promoted e-cigarettes and related items and offered nationwide delivery services.
Earlier this week, child health and rights experts in the country began calling for more awareness of the dangers of vaping around children, claiming exposure to secondhand vapor from vaping at home could be seen as a violation of Thailand’s child protection laws.
August 21, 2024
Two Arrested in UAE for Selling Illegal Vapes

Credit: Creative
Police in the United Arab Emirates city of Ajman arrested two persons of interest on charges of trading and storing 797,000 e-cigarettes without a license and tax evasion.
Upon receiving a report, the authorities immediately formed a team and raided the site, where large quantities of e-cigarettes from several companies were seized.
As many as 797,555 electronic cigarettes were found stored in five rooms in the villa, bearing the trademarks of hundreds of electronic cigarette manufacturing companies, according to media reports.
The authority called on the public to be careful when purchasing goods from non-approved sales locations and not to hesitate to report them, pointing out the dangers of smoking to health and safety.
It also added that Ajman Police will be on the lookout and will deal firmly with tax evasion crimes that tamper with national security and safety of citizens and residents.
August 8, 2024
BAT Chief Says US Needs Crackdown on Illegal Vapes

Credit: Iama Sing
A surge of illegal vaping products originating from China is negatively impacting the sales of legal alternatives to cigarettes in the U.S., according to the CEO of British American Tobacco.
Tadeu Marroco advocated for stricter penalties for individuals importing unauthorized vapes into the U.S. “What we are seeing with the lack of enforcement is a reduction of the legal market of vapor,” the CEO said.
BAT is one of the tobacco producers waiting for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s long-delayed completion of its review of marketing applications for vaping products. BAT is a major player in the vaping industry worldwide and in the U.S. with its Vuse brand.
The delay is leading manufacturers of illicit products to take advantage of the uncertainty by continuing to sell them, Marroco said. The FDA needs to “decide publicly what are the products that are allowed to stay in the market and the products that need to be taken out of the market,” he added, according to Bloomberg.
The FDA and the U.S. Department of Justice have formed a federal task force spanning multiple agencies to stop the distribution of illegal e-cigarettes. As of early June, the FDA had issued 1,100 warning letters to makers, importers and distributors of unauthorized new tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, and fined more than 55 manufacturers and 140 retailers.
BAT has launched two claims with the International Trade Commission, one related to patent infringement and another about the importation and marketing practices of illegal vapes.
The company reported first-half results earlier Thursday, in which it said it’s unlikely to hit a £5 billion ($6.4 billion) revenue target in 2025 for vapes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches, blaming the lack of a U.S. clampdown on illicit products.
July 25, 2024
US FDA Updates ‘Red List’ for Illegal Vaping Products
Credit: Eduardo Barraza
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its import alert on May 23, which includes a “red list” of manufacturers, distributors, and brands of vapor products that may be detained “without physical examination,” the agency announced.
The alert authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to detain new tobacco products that do not have the required marketing authorization under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which gives the FDA the authority to regulate all tobacco products.
The full list of products now includes Chinese manufacturers and distributors as well as U.S. importers and distributors.
The FDA announced last week that it is taking stronger enforcement actions against unauthorized e-cigarettes. The agency is seeking civil money penalties (CMP) against nine brick-and-mortar retailers and one online retailer for selling unauthorized Elf Bar brand vaping products. The FDA is seeking a penalty of more than $20,000 from each retailer.
“In order to remove a firm’s product from the Red List, information should be provided to the agency to adequately demonstrate that the firm has resolved the conditions that gave rise to the appearance of the violation,” the FDA states. “The purpose of this is so that the Agency will have confidence that future shipments/entries will be in compliance with the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).”
June 3, 2024
Singapore Police Seize $3.7 Million in Illegal Vapes
Credit: Sharaf Maksumov
More than S$5 million ($3.7 million) worth of vape products were seized during a warehouse raid at Woodlands Industrial Park on Apr 24 in Singapore.
It is the second-largest seizure of vaping products, coming a month after a record haul in March that was worth more than S$6 million.
Officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) were conducting an enforcement operation when they found more than 400,000 vaping products and alerted the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), according to an ICA statement.
Last year, Singapore authorities handled around 8,000 vaping-related offenses, a 43 percent jump from the 5,600 in 2022. A total of 7,600 offenses were recorded in 2021.
From Jan. 1 to March 31 this year, more than 2,200 people were caught possessing and using vaping products.
May 22, 2024
Australia: Over $1 Million in Illicit Nicotine Seized
More than 30,000 vapes and tobacco products worth more than AUD 1 million ($650,000) have been seized by health authorities in a series of raids across Sydney.
The major vaping blitz saw 60 retailers targeted throughout the city’s southeast last week.
More than 30,000 e-cigarettes, 118,000 cigarettes, 45 kilograms of flavored and loose-leaf tobacco, and 284 containers of nicotine pouches were taken during the NSW Health and Therapeutic Goods Administration raids.
The total street value of the seizures is over $1.1 million, NSW Health said.
It takes the total value of illegal vapes and tobacco products seized across the state since July 2020 to $31.6 million.
February 6, 2024
UK Seized Nearly 10 Tons of Illegal Vapes Last Year

Credit: Mary
The number of illegal vapes seized at the border quadrupled last year as UK authorities wrestle with unlicensed imports amid a surge in youth vaping. More than 4.5 million vapes weighing nearly 10 tons were seized over the last 12 months, four times more than in 2022.
The figures were released to the BBC after a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. The government is soon to announce new rules for the industry, including a possible ban on disposable vapes.
Figures released to the BBC in response to an FOI request show that Border Force seized just 4,430 vapes in 2021, rising to 988,064 in 2022 and 4,537,689 from Jan. to Oct. 2023.
Unlike legal vapes, illegal e-cigarettes are not registered with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and do not pass through quality control processes, so they may contain harmful chemicals. And retailers prepared to flout product rules may not be scrupulous about observing the ban on selling to under-18s
A Home Office spokesperson said the government would “not tolerate the sale of illegal products and… harmful goods, such as illegal or counterfeit vapes”.
February 5, 2024
Florida Thieves Snatch $700,000 in Vaping Products

Credit: Aleksandr Kondratov
A city in the U.S. state of Florida has opened an investigation into the theft of a trailer that contained vaping materials valued at over $700,000.
On August 14, while conducting a routine patrol of the area near 750 North University Drive, an police officer from the city of Coral Springs, Florida was flagged down by a man that claimed his semi-truck had been stolen, according to media reports.
According to the incident report, the man said he had parked his semi-truck in front of Sam’s Club at 950 University Drive and then went home for the night. He returned the next day to find his trailer missing and his semi-truck parked in a different spot than he had left it.
During an investigation into the man’s claims, police reviewed tow logs that confirmed the truck had not been towed and, upon closer inspection, discovered damage to the driver’s side lock.
After reviewing video surveillance footage, investigators have identified a suspect wearing a backpack and a hat who moved the truck. Despite reviewing CCTV footage from all businesses in the plaza, officers have not yet found any leads.
August 23, 2023