On July 31st, the summary and work promotion meeting of the “SkyNet 2023” special action in Hunan Province was held in Yingyang. Since the launch of the “SkyNet 2023” special action, a total of 4,666 cases related to tobacco violations have been investigated and dealt with across the province. 74.8186 million counterfeit cigarettes have been seized and 21 major cases of fourth-level and above have been solved. Among them, there have been two cases directed by the Ministry of Public Security and the State Tobacco Administration and one case commended with a congratulatory letter from the Ministry of Public Security and the State Tobacco Administration.
The public security and tobacco departments at all levels in Hunan Province have incorporated the crackdown on tobacco-related illegal activities into the construction of safe cities and the performance assessment of public security and market supervision. They are also building a collaborative mechanism and have made significant breakthroughs in uncovering “investment partners, local protection umbrellas, production managers, equipment technicians, and downstream distributors” involved in counterfeiting and cracking down on online networks. They have successfully solved a number of key cases.
Since the launch of the “SkyNet 2023” special operation, there has been a new breakthrough in the comprehensive regulation of e-cigarettes. The Provincial Public Security Department, Provincial Tobacco Bureau, and Provincial Market Supervision Bureau have jointly established a unified law enforcement mechanism and issued a regulatory checklist to effectively solve the regulatory challenges posed by new illegal products such as “milk tea cups” and “cola cans”. In collaboration with the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office and the Provincial High Court, discussions and seminars have been held on the application of laws and standards of evidence, promoting the standardization and institutionalization of the e-cigarette execution and prosecution process, and achieving seamless coordination in the transfer, prosecution, and sentencing of criminal cases related to e-cigarettes. In the first half of the year, a total of 102 cases related to e-cigarettes were investigated and dealt with in the province, resulting in the seizure of nearly 500,000 illegal e-cigarette products and 2 tons of nicotine and aerosols.
The public security and tobacco authorities at all levels in Hunan Province are making good efforts to regulate and supervise distribution channels and platforms. With the support of the tobacco-related intelligence analysis platform, a total of 2,066 counterfeit and smuggled cigarette packages and 7.04 million counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes were seized in the first half of this year. There is a continued focus on strengthening the governance of illegal tobacco sales on online live streaming and social media platforms, and promoting integrated efforts for both online and offline enforcement.
