The group involved in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit food products, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment.
Hanoi police have arrested four individuals for allegedly manufacturing and distributing counterfeit food products, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment, including a pharmacist accused of orchestrating a large-scale fake supplement operation.
According to the Hanoi Police Department, Pham Ngoc Tien and his wife, Doan Thi Nguyet, led a group involved in the large-scale production and sale of counterfeit goods, including dietary supplements and medical devices.
Tien, a licensed pharmacist, reportedly created product formulas and directed unqualified staff to mix local ingredients into capsules falsely marketed as imported health supplements and medical products.
Tien instructed accountant Luong Thi Yen to establish 17 companies, six of which were authorised to import goods and 11 to distribute them domestically.
Initially, the group legally imported foreign-made supplements, but after strong sales, Tien shifted to domestic production, using foreign branding to deceive consumers and regulators.
The operation included a fake manufacturing facility in Nhu Quynh town, Hung Yen Province, and a printing company in Vinh Phuc used to produce aluminium foils for blister packaging.
Labels and packaging printed in foreign languages suggested overseas origin, while fake import documents were prepared to mislead authorities.
On May 7, after nearly a year of surveillance, Hanoi police raided almost 20 locations across over 20 provinces and cities, seizing over 100 tonnes of counterfeit goods.
The counterfeit goods seized.
Confiscated items included over 28,500 boxes, 35,000 bottles, and nearly 39,000 blister packs of fake supplements, along with production machinery and raw materials covering more than 100 product lines.
The suspects admitted to running the counterfeit operation since 2020, selling products nationwide through pharmacies and hospitals.
