Two lines selling fake goods online earned billions of dong

Ho Chi Minh City Market Management Department said the cases were discovered during the peak period of anti-smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods and intellectual property infringement being implemented in the area.

During this inspection, Market Management Team No. 3 coordinated with Team 6 – Economic Police Department of Ho Chi Minh City Police to inspect many business locations with signs of selling fake goods online.

In Long Truong ward, authorities discovered more than 1,000 products including shoes, sandals and socks branded Nike, Adidas and Converse. All unused goods, directly printed with brand logo but without invoices or documents proving origin. Representatives of the brand owners determined that all goods were fake. The total value of seized exhibits is more than 2.85 billion VND.

According to authorities, the owner imported goods online, then sold them mainly on social networks and e-commerce platforms. This person declared that he had been doing business in the above form for nearly three years, from mid-2023 until now, earning illegal profits of more than 3.5 billion VND.

Same test, Authorities continued to discover another counterfeit sales point in Cho Lon ward with a large number of products showing signs of counterfeiting high-end fashion and watch brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Dior, Hermès and Rolex.

Here, the inspection team seized 1,913 products including clothes, shoes, handbags and watches with a total value of more than one billion VND. The business owner cannot present documents proving the legal origin of the goods.

Results of electronic data extraction, bank statements and accounting documents show that from the beginning of 2024 until now, this group has earned more than 4.5 billion VND thanks to direct sales at stores and via Facebook, Zalo, TikTok.

According to initial testimony, the store owners knew clearly that the goods were fake brands but still did business due to high profits. To deal with authorities, points of sale are regularly closed, mainly trading via social networks and delivering goods through shippers to limit direct contact with buyers.

All exhibits in the two cases have been sealed and transferred to the investigation agency for further processing according to regulations. Ho Chi Minh City Market Management Department said that it will continue to strengthen inspections in key areas to prevent production and trading of counterfeit goods and protect consumer rights.

According to the plan just issued by the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the locality will strengthen market surveillance, proactively detect early signs of violations, especially with high-risk product groups such as consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and functional foods.

The city also focuses on inspecting business activities on e-commerce platforms and social networking platforms, where there are many potential risks of trading counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property rights.

The locality aims to create a strong change in preventing goods that infringe intellectual property rights, protecting the rights of people and businesses, building a transparent and healthy business environment and enhancing national reputation in international integration.

From the beginning of the year until now, the Ho Chi Minh City Market Management Department has inspected and handled 882 cases related to counterfeit goods and intellectual property infringement, temporarily detained more than 77,100 infringing products, fined 5.1 billion VND and transferred 2 cases with signs of crime to the investigating agency.

Particularly in the Ben Thanh and Saigon Square market areas, the authorities inspected and handled 71 violations, temporarily seizing 1,574 units of counterfeit branded goods. Ho Chi Minh City market management aims to increase the number of cases handled in May by at least 20% compared to the same period in 2025 and maintain high results in the following months.

On May 22, the Economic Police Department (PC03, Ho Chi Minh City Police) prosecuted Luu Phat Thuan (35 years old, Director of Thale Group Company) for his actions. Infringement of industrial property. According to the confession, around June 2023, Thuan sought to buy floating goods and set up Facebook, Instagram, TikTok accounts, and registered a Shopee store to run ads and retail to customers.

On May 14, authorities inspected Thale Group headquarters in Long Truong ward and discovered thousands of pairs of fake shoes, sandals, and socks of famous American and European Union brands, without invoices or documents.

Previously, on May 5, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung signed a telegram directing the drastic implementation of solutions to fight, prevent and handle acts of intellectual property rights infringement.