In a major crackdown on counterfeit agricultural products, the Economic Police Department of Dak Lak Province has exposed a large-scale operation producing and selling fake plant protection products (PPPs). According to authorities,
Numerous PPP brands have been counterfeited by the suspects. Photo: Dak Lak Police.
Since 2024, despite lacking the necessary licenses, production facilities, and technical staff required for PPP manufacturing, Nguyen Van Tam and Le Thi Thuy Hong have been driven by profit to produce and distribute counterfeit PPPs.
The perpetrators sourced raw materials from unverified suppliers without proper documentation, repackaged them, and affixed fake labels bearing non-existent company addresses to legitimize their products.
Shockingly, they established 19 shell companies out of 27 to disguise their operations, masquerading as legitimate agricultural supply businesses and aggressively promoting their counterfeit products on social media.
Authorities seized over 14,500 packets and 7,200 bottles of counterfeit PPPs across nearly 80 brands, including pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides. The estimated value of the illicit goods exceeds 1.6 billion VND.
Investigations revealed that the suspects exploited the high demand for PPPs, meticulously replicating packaging and labels. They sold these fakes at prices comparable to or even higher than genuine products to deceive customers. Many of these counterfeits contained no active ingredients or failed to meet declared concentrations.
Law enforcement executing legal procedures. Photo: Dak Lak Police.
The investigation unit has pressed charges against Nguyen Van Tam, Le Thi Thuy Hong, and Nguyen Ngoc Dong (residents of Quang Phu Commune, Dak Lak) for producing and trading counterfeit PPPs. The case remains under investigation by the Economic Police Department of Dak Lak Province.
