2FIRSTS | Germany Probes 7.6 Million Illegal Vape Case With Estimated €33.3 Million Tax Loss; Four Chinese Manufacturer Employees Under Investigation, Some Packaging in Enforcement Images Resembles FUMOT Products

German customs authorities, under the direction of the Central Office for the Prosecution of Organised Crime at the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor's Office, announced an investigation into a cross-border criminal network that systematically imported nicotine-containing disposable e-cigarettes from China into Germany. The network involves 23 suspects—four employees of an unnamed Chinese manufacturer on the supply side and 19 German-based members forming buyer, storage, and redistribution networks. Between January 2024 and March 2025, the network allegedly brought over 7.6 million illegal vapes into Germany, causing an estimated €33.3 million in excise-tax losses, with untaxed goods worth approximately €11 million. Authorities executed 13 arrest warrants, seized about 600,000 vapes, froze four properties, a high-value vehicle, luxury watches, gold jewellery and gold bars, seized over €2.25 million in cash, and froze 37 bank accounts. Representatives of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) participated in the operation. Investigators allege proceeds were transferred back to China or other foreign accounts through shell companies, with the networks operating across Cologne, the Bergisches Land region, the northern Ruhr area, Koblenz, Wesel district, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart.

Although German authorities have not publicly named the Chinese manufacturer involved, some packaging visible in enforcement images resembles publicly available FUMOT products. European regulatory records from January and November 2024 documented an 18-ml FUMOT RandM Tornado 9000 manufactured by Shenzhen Fumot Technology Co., Ltd. FUMOT founder and general manager Yang Kaiying (Sunny Yang) has been publicly described as directly involved in overseas pricing, channel, agency, and business-target decisions. FUMOT recruitment materials and public sales activity also show direct overseas channel development. The German vape importer Zamu-Pro GmbH appeared in RandM documentation dated May 2024, and current product listings identify FUMOT as manufacturer and Zamu-Pro as importer. Zamu-Pro's addresses in Dorsten and Schermbeck overlap with officially named investigation regions. However, the article emphasizes that German judicial and enforcement authorities have not publicly identified either FUMOT or Zamu-Pro as involved in the case; all connections are drawn from public records, and whether either company has any direct connection remains subject to further disclosure by German authorities.

(Source：2Firsts)