Hanoi police have dismantled a large-scale operation producing counterfeit Lavie bottled water, uncovering more than 20,000 fake 19-liter and 18.5-liter containers sold across the capital, authorities said on Monday.
The ring was led by Le Van Viet, 37, a resident of Long Bien District, and operated from a makeshift facility in Phu Dong Commune, Ha Noi City. Viet and three accomplices —Pham Tien Hung, Le Thi Cham, and Ly Quoc Khanh — have been charged with producing and trading counterfeit food and beverages under Article 193 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.
Police raided the site on October 2, seizing more than 500 counterfeit bottles, along with equipment including sealing machines, date-stamping devices, fake Lavie labels, and nylon shrink films. Investigators said the group had been running the scheme since March 2025, producing and distributing about 100 fake bottles per day.
The suspects allegedly collected empty Lavie containers from the market, washed them superficially, and refilled them with untreated tap water. The water was then sealed, labeled, and sold as genuine Lavie products to households, offices, and retail distributors across Hanoi.
Each counterfeit bottle cost about 10,000 VND (US$0.40) to produce and was sold for nearly 70,000 VND (US$2.80), generating illicit profits worth billions of dong over seven months, police said. To evade detection, the group used small trucks with frequently changed license plates to distribute goods from three different warehouses around the city.
Authorities warned that drinking unprocessed tap water sold as mineral water poses serious health risks, including bacterial contamination and exposure to heavy metals.
Hanoi police are now tracing the distribution network to recall any remaining fake products.
Officials urged consumers to purchase bottled water only from authorized distributors and to check labels, seals, and packaging carefully to avoid counterfeit goods.
