21 Arrested for Employing Illegal Immigrants to Illegally Manufacture and Distribute Chinese Cigarettes

Charges of Trademark Infringement and Violations of the Tobacco Business Act

Inside the factory where Il-dang illegally manufactured cigarettes. [Image source=Gyeongnam Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] A group involved in illegally manufacturing and selling Chinese cigarettes by employing undocumented immigrants has been arrested by the police.

The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency announced on the 25th that two Koreans in their 30s, including Mr. A, and one Chinese national were detained on charges of violating the Tobacco Business Act and Trademark Act, while six Koreans and twelve Chinese nationals were booked without detention.

The Metropolitan Investigation Unit's International Crime Investigation Division of the provincial police explained that, in cooperation with the National Intelligence Service, they obtained intelligence on the group's criminal activities and formed a dedicated investigation team to begin pre-indictment investigations.

The investigation team identified vehicles used in the crime and secured evidence through surveillance around the factory, then raided the factory and arrested nine individuals on-site, including the factory operator and undocumented immigrant employees.

The police seized ledgers, delivery logs, and 118 boxes of illegally manufactured cigarettes as evidence, and after analyzing the accounts and call records used in the crime, they arrested all 21 members of the illegal cigarette manufacturing organization, including the ringleader, factory manager, sales agents, and cigarette pack manufacturers.

According to the investigation team, Mr. A and others are suspected of renting an empty factory near the Nakdong River from around November 2020 to March this year, installing six cigarette manufacturing machines, and employing undocumented immigrants to illegally produce 288,000 packs of cigarettes that copied Chinese brand names without authorization.

They distributed and sold the cigarettes nationwide through social networking services (SNS), earning an illicit profit of approximately 1.872 billion KRW.

The police notified related agencies such as the tax office to prevent national treasury losses, as the illegally manufactured cigarettes were not subject to health promotion taxes or other levies. They plan to expand investigations into retail stores confirmed to have distributed and sold the cigarettes in cooperation with related organizations including the Gyeongnam Provincial Government.

A police official stated, “Illegally manufactured cigarettes do not include health warning labels or information on major ingredient contents and may contain harmful substances to the human body. We urge the public to actively report if they witness illegal manufacturing or sales activities.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.