Screenshot of a toy-like e-cigarette (Photo: Sina Weibo)

Following the report of an elementary school student who secretly smoked e-cigarettes at home by his father, the police successfully cracked a case involving nearly $3 million in the production of low-quality e-cigarettes.

Recently, a man surnamed Zhang phoned the police after he discovered that his 10-year-old son was secretly smoking a toy-like e-cigarette with fruit flavors at home, which is banned from production and sale in accordance with the law.

 

Following Zhang’s report, the relevant authorities found that the boy had purchased the e-cigarette from a local convenience store, which is selling large quantities of counterfeit e-cigarettes, primarily to minors. 

 

After gathering evidence, the police arrested the store owner, surnamed Tian, who confessed that he purchased the e-cigarettes from a woman named Li. According to the police, Li had been extensively advertising the illegal e-cigarettes through her WeChat account moments and group chats.

 

Following an extensive investigation, the police traced to the production source and dismantled a manufacturing workshop in Huizhou, South China’s Guangdong Province, seizing nearly 50,000 counterfeit e-cigarettes at a value of nearly 20 million yuan ($2.8 million). In total 21 people were detained, pending further investigation.

CCTV news-Global Times