The Internet and courier services are increasingly being used for smuggling tobacco products, including counterfeit ones, in China, according to a Xinhua News Agency story.
Zhao Hongshun, deputy chief of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, told a press conference on Friday that the production of and trade in counterfeit tobacco products had evolved.
Production sites were now changed frequently, while those involved in the illegal trade used Internet-based distribution and decentralized modes of transportation.
In response, Zhao said, China’s tobacco authorities and public security agencies would launch a campaign targeting crimes related to tobacco products that were transported through courier services.
Between January and November 2018, 363,000 cartons of fake cigarettes and 137,000 cartons of smuggled cigarettes were seized by law enforcers, Zhao said.
At the same time, 6,306 suspects were detained, of whom 2,631 were subject to criminal prosecution.
Illegal trade evolving
