Arrested the boss of fake cosmetics production

(Baonghean) - From a fragile source

In early December 2014, Colonel Nguyen Xuan Thiem - Head of the Economic Police Department (PC46) - Nghe An Police was restless. The public had provided a fragile source of information about a group of people who specialized in peddling counterfeit goods in mountainous and rural districts. The question for PC46 was: What kind of goods? What were the methods and tricks? What was the scale? Was it just an isolated phenomenon or was it organized and systematic? Colonel Nguyen Xuan Thiem directed detectives to gather information.

After many days and nights of ambush, on the night of December 14 and early morning of December 15, 2014, 6 working groups with 35 soldiers of PC46 simultaneously launched an operation to catch 5 subjects using cars and motorbikes to sell counterfeit goods in the districts of Tuong Duong, Yen Thanh, and Dien Chau. The seized evidence included many types of cosmetics, the most of which were fake Listerine mouthwash from Thailand and fake feminine hygiene solution of a famous domestic brand. Immediately after conducting a simultaneous search at 8 households in Dien Kim commune (Dien Chau), the investigating police agency seized many counterfeit items worth hundreds of millions of dong. PC 46 also quickly determined: In a short time, the subjects had smuggled and sold on the Nghe An market 6,000 fake Listerine products and 8,000 fake feminine hygiene products, not to mention many other types of fake goods such as: wind oil, feminine hygiene pads and fake cosmetics of all kinds.

Subjects Tung and Phuoc with evidence of the case.

It is believed that these counterfeit goods are produced from other places and smuggled into our province for consumption. To prevent these counterfeit goods, we must destroy the production gangs. Department PC 46 reported to the superiors and received approval from the provincial police to establish Project 124G to expand the investigation of the case. The purpose is to "go into the tiger's den to catch the tiger", to investigate the counterfeit goods production network to the end. However, the big difficulty for the Project Board is that counterfeit goods are transported and traded through many intermediaries, over a large area across the country, so we have to find clues and specific addresses.

To speed up the progress of solving the case, Colonel Nguyen Huu Cau - Deputy Director of the Provincial Police - Head of the investigation agency agreed to "go general". Colonel Nguyen Xuan Thiem - Head of PC46 Department personally took on the responsibility of "taking the lead" with the detectives to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to investigate and solve the case.

According to Colonel Nguyen Xuan Thiem, this is an extremely bold decision. Because conducting an investigation in a large, densely populated area like Ho Chi Minh City is not simple at all. Meanwhile, the goal set by the Head of Nghe An Police Investigation Agency and the Task Force must be achieved by all means: Find the facility that produces and mixes counterfeit goods; Verify the address of the bottle blowing and packaging printing workshop. Who is the "kingpin"? What is his identity, identification characteristics, and where does he live? Is the location of the investigation determined at 36/3z - Quang Trung Street - Ward 11 - Go Vap District correct as provided by the source?

Catching a tiger in the tiger's den

In order to achieve the set goals quickly and effectively, the reconnaissance teams were deployed independently. For many days and nights, the officers and soldiers of the Task Force had to go through every alley and check every corner of the street. Recalling the days of working in Ho Chi Minh City, Major Ho Sy Duong - Team 5 - PC46 Nghe An Police said that there were many difficulties to go through. Ho Chi Minh City's area was both very large and crowded, while the ringleader of this ring was very sophisticated. The ringleader never revealed himself through transactions, only contacted and conducted transactions over the phone. Customers also did not know the address of the production facility or the home address of the ringleader. However, in Nghe An, through this ring, the police investigation agency verified that in a short time, hundreds of millions of VND were transferred through accounts to Ho Chi Minh City. However, after many days of monitoring and understanding the activities and dens of the counterfeiters, the Task Force decided to "cast the net".

In the early morning of January 28, 2015, with the support of Ho Chi Minh City Police, Task Force 124G - PC46 simultaneously launched, executed arrest warrants, and simultaneously searched 3 counterfeit goods manufacturing facilities in Go Vap District and District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, led by 2 subjects: Than Huu Phuoc (born in 1974), residing in Ward 11, Go Vap District (Ho Chi Minh City) and Luong Thanh Tung (born in 1982), residing in Dong Hung Thuan 2 Street, Ward 11, District 12 (Ho Chi Minh City).

At the above addresses, the Investigation Team caught and seized about 15 tons of counterfeit goods and related materials used to produce dozens of types of counterfeit goods. Of which, the two main types of counterfeit goods were fake Listerine mouthwash from Thailand and feminine hygiene solution produced by a famous domestic brand. As for Listerine, at the scene, the Nghe An Police Investigation Agency determined that there was about 1 ton of solution and chemicals that had been bottled into finished products. Notably, this mouthwash was not only counterfeited from Thailand, but the subjects also counterfeited anti-counterfeit stamps. As for feminine hygiene solution, in addition to the batches of products that had been bottled with fake stamps and labels, there were still about 5 tons of pre-mixed products stored in plastic barrels. Not only that, the subject Than Huu Phuoc also directed the production of many other types of fake cosmetics such as: facial peeling cream, deodorant, essential oil... At the scene, there was a large amount of stamps, labels, boxes, and packaging counterfeiting high-end foreign cosmetic brands that had not been packaged yet. The Task Force seized 15 tons of fake goods and related materials and accessories with a value equivalent to genuine goods of about 1.5 billion VND. In addition, machines, means of producing fake goods, many important documents and related subjects were also confiscated and arrested.

Portrait of the "inventor"

Than Huu Phuoc's facility was disguised as a cosmetic manufacturing facility registered with the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Planning and Investment of Ho Chi Minh City. Under that perfect cover, Than Huu Phuoc colluded with subjects to produce counterfeit goods of famous brands. Phuoc confessed that with the "knowledge" of a former hair dye and nail polish maker, he bought raw materials and chemicals floating around Ben Thanh market to mix into products himself, and bought labels and anti-counterfeit stamps to cover up his actions.

The key link in this chain is Luong Thanh Tung. Tung is both a "business partner" and a distributor of counterfeit goods created by Than Huu Phuoc. According to Phuoc's initial confession, all counterfeit goods were ordered and distributed by Tung. Although Than Huu Phuoc and Phan Thanh Tung evaded that they had only been making and distributing counterfeit cosmetics for a few months, according to verification by PC 46 - Nghe An Police, these subjects have been operating illegally for at least more than 2 years.

“We have waited for this day for so long!”

These are the shares of many workers working in warehouses and factories owned by Than Huu Phuoc. At the production facility, Than Huu Phuoc selected 12 workers, aged 15 to 19. The workers all had special and difficult circumstances. Before hiring them to work for him, Than Huu Phuoc "investigated" and learned about each person's family background. Therefore, once they started working, Phuoc always used many forms of threats to the workers. His purpose was to find a way to conceal his crimes. Everyone had to hand over their ID cards or personal papers to Phuoc to keep. Phuoc paid them monthly wages in small amounts and almost all workers were not allowed to leave the production facility but had to eat and sleep on the spot.

Colonel Nguyen Xuan Thiem also said that the children in Than Huu Phuoc's production facility had found many ways to secretly contact and provide information about the location of the counterfeit goods to the Task Force. Notably, after solving the case and completing all procedures, the Task Force asked Than Huu Phuoc and his family to pay all the wages owed to the workers. Immediately after that, the children were able to return to their families. Neighbors in the area were also very happy and joyful because the police had successfully destroyed the hotspot that had been a headache for many years.

Article and photos:Chuyen - Tuan