The suspects are Dinh Thi Phuong, born in 2003, Dao Van Canh, born in 1997, Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh, born in 1998, and Dao Van Minh, born in 1998, all from Thanh Hoa Province;
Mai Minh Duc, born in 1996, Nguyen Quynh Trang, born in 1996, Nguyen Van Bao, born in 1994, Dao Thi Thuy, born in 1996, Ngo Hai Ninh, born in 1994, and Phung Thi Ngoc Linh, born in 1997, all from Hanoi;
Dang Cong Hanh, born in 1999, and Nguyen Van Hau, born in 2002, both from Bac Ninh Province; and Giang Que Dinh, born in 1986, from Ho Chi Minh City.
Earlier, Thanh Hoa Province Police detected unusual signs at two business premises run by Dao Van Canh and Dinh Thi Phuong in Tan Tien Commune, and by Dao Van Minh and Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh in Ho Vuong Commune.
Police inspect evidence in the case (Photo: Thanh Hoa Police).
Investigators found that the group exploited lax online shop registration procedures to create a series of fake accounts and virtual storefronts using forged information. They then used display optimisation tactics and paid advertising to push the products to consumers.
Targeting customers eager to own luxury goods at low prices, the group advertised fake perfumes at only a fraction of the price of genuine products.
In emergency searches at seven locations in Thanh Hoa Province and Hanoi, authorities seized more than 650 finished 100ml perfume bottles, more than 1,500 fake 10ml decanted bottles bearing dozens of famous brands such as Chanel, Gucci and Dior, along with more than 620 litres of perfume solution, chemicals and fragrance compounds, four cars and many valuable assets and savings books.
As the investigation widened, the police investigation agency continued dismantling the entire counterfeit production and trading ring.
Dao Van Minh and Dao Van Canh (Photo: Thanh Hoa Police).
A typical case involved Phung Thi Ngoc Linh's fake perfume trading operation. According to investigators, Linh used multiple social media accounts to sell fake perfume wholesale to customers. A search of her home uncovered numerous cartons containing finished perfume, along with a large quantity of glass bottles, mixing tools and chemical containers used to create scents.
Notably, when investigators expanded their inquiry into the raw material supply linked to Nguyen Quynh Trang and Mai Minh Duc, they identified Giang Que Dinh as the person behind Kien Thang Co Ltd and D-FRAGRANCES Co Ltd in Ho Chi Minh City. To conceal his role, Dinh had his mother and younger sibling listed as the legal representatives of the two companies.
Under Dinh's direction, base fragrance compounds were legally imported from Turkey and then sold on the open market. Between 2023 and 2025, Dinh directed sales of fragrance compounds to 14 customers, including Duc and Trang, but deliberately kept the transactions off the accounting books and failed to declare tax on revenue of more than VND 15.5 billion (USD 596,000).
Searches of the two companies run by Dinh led authorities to seize more than 10 drums, 20 aluminium canisters containing chemicals, three boxes of customs documents, more than VND 1 billion (USD 38,461) in cash, and large amounts of foreign currency.
Materials and chemicals used by the group to produce and decant fake perfume (Photo: Thanh Hoa Police).
After buying fragrance compounds from Dinh, Mai Minh Duc and Nguyen Quynh Trang mixed them with alcohol and distilled water to create fake perfume solution. The group ordered the production of 10ml decant bottles, printed labels of famous brands, and worked with Ngo Hai Ninh, who was responsible for design, advertising and operating shops on Shopee, to sell the products on the ecommerce platform.
From May 2025 to March, the group made nearly VND 500 million (USD 19,230) in illicit profits from selling fake decanted perfume on Shopee. Once completed, the products were sold nationwide through ecommerce platforms and social media.
