Authorities discover counterfeit detergent production operation in Dien Chau.

(Baonghean.vn) - On April 16, the Criminal Investigation Department for Economic Management and Official Misconduct of the Nghe An Provincial Police issued a decision to temporarily detain Vu Thi Bon (born in 1958), residing in Ngoc Tan hamlet, Dien Ngoc commune, Dien Chau district (Nghe An province) to facilitate the investigation into the act of producing counterfeit goods.

Previously, at approximately 11:00 AM on April 14, 2014, the Economic and Functional Crime Investigation Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police received a tip from the public regarding suspected production of counterfeit goods (fake OMO brand detergent) at the old kiosks of the Bac Dien Chau gas station, located in Ngoc Tan hamlet, Dien Ngoc commune, Dien Chau district (Nghe An province). They quickly verified the information and apprehended Vu Thi Bon (born in 1958), residing in Ngoc Tan hamlet, Dien Ngoc commune, Dien Chau district, while she was in the act of producing counterfeit goods.

During the on-site search, the police seized nearly 2,000 packages of suspected counterfeit OMO brand laundry detergent, 4.5 kg of empty OMO detergent packets, a 5 kg weighing scale, 3 plastic bag sealing machines, 50 bags of Duc Giang brand laundry detergent manufactured by Duc Giang Detergent and Chemical Joint Stock Company, and 25 bags of YES brand laundry detergent. All of these goods lacked invoices and documentation proving their origin.

The suspect Vu Thi Bon and the counterfeit goods were seized.

During questioning at the investigative agency, Vu Thi Bon confessed that the aforementioned OMO brand detergent was counterfeit. Due to debt from loan sharks, she was advised by some people to buy Duc Giang and YES detergents and repackage them as OMO detergents to sell for easy profit without being detected. So, she took the risk and bought cheap YES and Duc Giang detergents in Vinh City (10 million VND/ton), while the OMO detergent packaging (3kg, 400g, and 800g) was ordered from Hanoi for 4 million VND. After gathering enough materials for counterfeiting, she used three plastic sealing machines and a 5kg weighing scale to weigh the Duc Giang and YES detergents to the required quantities of 400g, 800g, and 3kg. She then put the counterfeit powder into the corresponding OMO detergent bags and packaged them before selling them on the market for profit.

Ms. Bon started selling counterfeit detergent in February 2014. Seeing that her first attempt was successful and yielded high profits, she continued producing counterfeit goods. On April 14th, while unloading goods from a truck and preparing to package them, she was arrested by the police.

The incident is currently under further investigation.

Minh Tam