Thousands of functional food products dumped: Identified as counterfeit

More than 3,000 boxes of functional foods found dumped in an empty lot in Binh Chanh District (HCMC) were identified as counterfeit goods, purchased from the ecosystem of a company prosecuted by the Ministry of Public Security.

On June 10, the Economic Police Department (PC03) - Ho Chi Minh City Police said that they are working with many people involved in the case of dumping functional foods at a landfill in Phong Phu commune, Binh Chanh district (Ho Chi Minh City).

Previously, on June 6, PC03 coordinated with the Environmental Police Department (PC05) and Phong Phu Commune Police to inspect an empty lot along Nguyen Van Linh Street (Hamlet 12, Phong Phu Commune, Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City), discovering many spots with traces of destroying functional foods.

L. pointed out the location of the dump and burned fake functional foods. Photo: CA

At the scene, the authorities collected more than 3,000 boxes of various functional foods, with 95 different brands such as Pharvita Plus, Entoro Plus, Zin C, Canxi Nano, Pedia Baby, Ginkgo Natto, Alphavit, Vitamin C... Many products still had intact labels, packaging, and expiration dates until 2027-2028. The area of ​​the destruction area was about 20m², showing signs of being burned.

The police investigated and identified the person who directly burned the goods as NML (32 years old, residing in Phong Phu commune). L. stated that at around 11:00 a.m. on May 28, a man named P. introduced him to clean out the warehouse for an acquaintance. Afterwards, L. was called by a man named NPS (36 years old, residing in District 12) and hired to take the goods away for destruction.

C. (left), is the driver who transported the goods by truck to L. for destruction. Photo: CA

From May 28 to June 3, L. received goods from a truck driven by a driver named C. to his house, including 80 cartons containing boxes and 167 boxes containing functional foods.

L. then brought the goods to an empty lot on Nguyen Van Linh Street to burn. However, due to the rain, the goods did not burn completely, leaving traces that were discovered by the authorities. After completion, L. received 7 million VND from Mr. S.

The police identified the person who delivered the goods to L. as TVC (34 years old, from Quang Ngai ). This driver said he transported five shipments from Dong Hung Thuan ward (District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) to L.'s house in Phong Phu commune and received 7.2 million VND from Mr. S. C. said he did not know what the goods were because they were packed and sealed.

Police seized a large quantity of functional foods. Photo: CA

PC03 identified the person who organized the destruction of the goods as NPS, director of SKXNC Company Limited (District 12, Ho Chi Minh City). He admitted to importing and trading functional foods, cosmetics, and medical equipment through e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, and a wholesale drug store.

The origin of the destroyed functional foods was determined to be purchased by Mr. S. from D.VA (44 years old), representative of VP Joint Stock Company, headquartered in Hanoi, with a branch in District 12.

After being provided with a list of about 100 items and accompanying documents, Mr. S. signed a contract with two distribution companies, MU Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company and M Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company.

Police initially determined that from mid-2023 until now, Mr. S. bought about 150 types of products, with a total value of 20 billion VND.

Mr. S. claimed that he did not know that these goods were counterfeit. By the end of April 2025, while watching the news, Mr. S. discovered that the two companies were being investigated by the Ministry of Public Security for trading in counterfeit functional foods. Fearing punishment, Mr. S. recalled a portion of the products and hired someone to destroy them to avoid detection. This shipment was determined to be worth about 500 million VND.

Handed over 238 more boxes that had not been destroyed yet.

In addition to the goods burned in Binh Chanh district, Mr. S. also handed over to the police 5 cartons of functional foods that had not been destroyed yet, a total of 238 boxes including 47 types such as Kim Tien Thao Rau Meo, Ultra Omega, Natural's Health Mediphar, Pedia Baby...

Department PC03 continues to coordinate with relevant units to appraise all goods and verify and clarify acts of illegal destruction, counterfeit goods trading and violations of environmental regulations.

According to the investigation agency, the seized products are all related to a criminal case handled by Department C03, Ministry of Public Security, in which Nguyen Nang Manh, the leader of the fake functional food production and distribution ring, was prosecuted on April 26.

THU HOAI - LITERATURE

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/vu-hang-ngan-san-pham-thuc-pham-chuc-nang-bi-do-bo-duoc-xac-dinh-la-hang-gia-post798881.html