According to local police, Do Van Quy, 41, was charged and barred from leaving his place of residence pending investigation into the production and sale of counterfeit food products.
Authorities said officers raided Quy’s “Van Quy 7777” coffee facility in February and found coffee samples containing zero caffeine.
During questioning, Quy admitted he had started producing fake coffee in early 2024 after raw coffee prices surged.
He told investigators the products were made from burnt corn and soybeans mixed with flavourings and chemical additives before being packaged and sold for between VND 80,000 and VND 100,000 (USD 3-USD 3.80) per kilogramme.
Police said about 10 tonnes of the fake coffee had already been distributed to the market before the operation.
During a search of the facility, officers seized nearly 80kg of finished products, more than one tonne of processed corn and soybeans, along with machinery, packaging and related documents.
Authorities said investigations were continuing.