Recently, the issue of counterfeit cigarette sales has once again attracted social attention, and well-known convenience stores have become a "major disaster area for counterfeit cigarettes".

The "Guangdong 3.15 Evening Gala" broadcasted on March 14th exposed the large-scale sale of counterfeit cigarettes in Meiyijia convenience stores. A large number of netizens have reported buying "fake cigarettes" at Meiyijia convenience stores, even directly referring to Meiyijia as a "gathering place for fake cigarettes", jokingly saying that it has "its own cigarette factory", pushing it to the forefront of the "disaster area" of fake cigarette sales.

In order to determine whether the cigarettes purchased from Meiyijia Convenience Store are genuine, the investigation team reported to the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau. Tobacco Monopoly Bureau staff inspected relevant stores, and law enforcement officers from Guangzhou Haizhu Branch found 8 types and 38 packs of problematic cigarettes at Meiyijia Yue 18880 store at 307 Dunhe Road. They sealed and sent them to relevant institutions for further testing.

The investigation team conducted undercover investigations in Guangzhou, Foshan, and Dongguan, and purchased problematic cigarettes at 10 Meiyijia convenience stores. The Tobacco Monopoly Bureau detected at least 854 packs of problematic cigarettes, involving popular brands such as Liqun and Xuanhemen. The four problematic cigarettes submitted for inspection have been found to have issues with their main smoke indicators, indicating a higher risk of cancer and stronger addiction, posing a serious threat to consumers' health.

However, after several days of law enforcement, the investigation team again visited the stores involved and found that at least half of the 10 stores were still selling problematic cigarettes. During visits to multiple towns and streets in Foshan and Dongguan, it was also found that several Meiyijia convenience stores were suspected of selling "problematic cigarettes".

Similar cases of counterfeit cigarette sales are not isolated. Previously, Huai'an, Jiangsu also cracked a major case of using convenience stores to sell counterfeit cigarettes. In July 2021, Zhu joined and operated a convenience store in Huai'an. Liu, who was responsible for store guidance, mixed a small amount of counterfeit cigarettes in the supplied cigarettes to increase profits. After encountering customer complaints, Zhu not only failed to be alert, but also sensed a "business opportunity" and began actively seeking channels for counterfeit cigarettes.

In order to evade supervision and customer complaints, Zhu has developed an operational model of mixing genuine and fake cigarettes. Fake cigarettes are not delivered in whole boxes and are split into individual pieces; Not displayed on the counter during the day, only a portion is taken out and placed on the cigarette rack at night, with the same price as real cigarettes. He also provided language training to the store staff, requiring them to "watch people sell cigarettes". If customers find fake cigarettes and request a return, they must either refund or compensate for a pack of genuine cigarettes, and fabricate reasons.

It is difficult to expand the sales scale of counterfeit cigarettes solely through personal efforts. Zhu used high returns as bait to attract investment from relatives and friends, and built a profit chain for counterfeit cigarette sales. He promised to repay the principal within 18 to 24 months at a rate of 50000 yuan per share, and distribute a monthly dividend of 700 yuan per share after the principal is recovered. However, in actual operation, some stores have poor business and shareholder dividends have far fallen short of expectations.

Starting from May 2023, multiple shareholders have requested refunds. Zhu has modified the rules and promised to recoup the capital within two years. During this period, shareholders can receive their salaries, and after two years, they will participate in all store dividends at a rate of 700 yuan per share. He also established a 'personnel transfer mechanism' in an attempt to conceal the essence of illegal business operations.

In November 2023, as the Spring Festival approached, Zhu raised more than 4 million yuan under the pretext of "hoarding cigarettes to make money during the Chinese New Year". He purchased a large quantity of counterfeit cigarettes from "Li Yunlong" and hired and arranged Zhang and Liu to be responsible for connecting and delivering them to the store for sales, managing the store, and handling complaints, officially embarking on the criminal path of large-scale sales of counterfeit cigarettes. He used the investment funds from shareholders to crazily open stores in multiple places, and when funds were insufficient, he sought new shareholders to invest. As of 2024, when Zhu was arrested, there were 36 convenience stores under his name.

On January 3, 2024, after receiving reports from the public, Huaiyin Branch of Huai'an Public Security Bureau and Huai'an Tobacco Monopoly Bureau jointly launched a crackdown operation, destroying this counterfeit cigarette sales network. After investigation, within two years, Zhu sold more than 39000 counterfeit cigarettes through 36 convenience stores, with a sales amount of nearly 10 million yuan.

The exposure of Meiyijia has exposed deep-seated problems in the convenience store system nationwide, especially for large and rapidly expanding brands. Establishing effective control mechanisms has become a key issue that urgently needs to be addressed.

The reason why counterfeit cigarettes can circulate in convenience stores is mainly attributed to several key factors: firstly, the packaging of counterfeit cigarettes is highly simulated, and even scanning the code can redirect to the official page, but there are still loopholes in the details, such as font printing deviation, "back" shaped block adhesion, etc; Secondly, the store adopts covert fraudulent methods, such as hoarding real cigarettes in the warehouse while displaying fake cigarettes on the shelves, and taking photos and reporting through the "peer group" to avoid inspection. In addition, counterfeit cigarette manufacturers also use online platforms for transactions and distribute shipments through express delivery, further increasing regulatory difficulties.

After delving deeper into the sales of counterfeit cigarettes in convenience stores, a clearly defined chain of counterfeit cigarette production and sales has gradually emerged.

From the source of production, the manufacturing of counterfeit cigarettes has already formed a specialized and large-scale operation mode. In August 2025, the counterfeit cigarette production and sales chain destroyed by the Tanghe County Public Security Bureau in conjunction with the tobacco department is a typical case. The chain covers unlicensed production, cross regional sales and other links. The police cut 7 manufacturing and storage dens at one fell swoop, captured 27 suspect, seized 7 sets of tobacco product production equipment and a large number of raw materials, and involved nearly 10 million yuan.

These counterfeit production sites exhibit a crazy state of "people rest and machines do not rest", from cigarette bundles, filter rods to empty cigarette tubes, each link is divided and cooperated to form a complete counterfeit production industry chain.

In the circulation process, the spread path of counterfeit cigarettes is also complex. Some convenience store owners have revealed that counterfeit cigarettes are often supplied by door-to-door salespeople or purchased through informal channels introduced by friends. These channels have strong concealment and the supply price is almost the same as that of regular tobacco, which makes shop owners take risks under the temptation of profit.

In addition, it has been reported that on a certain online platform, multiple forums such as Yunxiao Tobacco Factory Bar, Yuedai Bar, and Yuedai Tobacco Bar have a large number of trading posts about counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes. They display various counterfeit problematic cigarettes, and traders use encrypted methods to contact them. There should be all kinds of counterfeit cigarettes from various brands, indicating that online platforms also have certain responsibilities.

It is reported that Meiyijia is a well-known chain brand convenience store. According to data from the China Chain Store Association, as of the end of 2024, its total number of chain stores is 37943, ranking first in the country, and it will exceed 40000 in July 2025. On the 15th, IKEA headquarters customer service responded that they will further strengthen supervision and safeguard the bottom line of compliant operations.