Agents seize hundreds of thousands of illegal vapes smuggled from China in nationwide crackdown

BENSENVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Federal agents seized hundreds of thousands of illegal vaping products in raids across the country Wednesday as the Trump administration moved to crack down on devices that are regularly used by teens in the U.S. after being smuggled in from China.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other top federal officials traveled to Illinois to tout the seizures, which included more than 600,000 illegal products taken from a distributor outside of Chicago, officials said. They stood outside the warehouse flanked by colored boxes of vapes in fruity flavors officials say are being illegally sold at stores nationwide.

“They’re targeting children, young adults, college students and even members of our military” Bondi said. “Make no mistake Chinese companies are making billions of dollars off of these products. They’re peddling them into our country.”

It’s the latest attempt by law enforcement to staunch the flow of unauthorized vapes that have flooded into the U.S. in kid-friendly flavors, often from China. Their influx has forced the FDA to try to eliminate thousands of illegal products sold by under-the-radar importers and distributors.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Marshals Service also seized illegal products from distributors and retailers in North Carolina, Arizona, New Jersey, Georgia and Florida, federal officials said.

The Justice Department also filed civil actions Wednesday seeking to halt illegal business practices happening at five distributors and five retailers, officials said. That follows undercover buys of illegal products that ATF agents carried out at distributors across the country last month, according to authorities.

Bondi said the Justice Department would also not rule out bringing criminal charges, if warranted.

Vaping among teens skyrocketed in 2019, when more than a quarter reported using vapes daily. But use has declined in recent years with fewer adolescents reported vaping in 2024 than at any point in the last decade. Officials attributed that drop in part to more aggressive enforcement against retailers and manufacturers.

The Vapor Technology Association blasted the FDA and federal officials, arguing the actions threaten to bankrupt thousands of small businesses, cost tens of thousands of jobs, and erase billions in tax revenue. The group’s executive director, Tony Abboud, called the seizures “an assault on American workers, small businesses, and the tax base” and urged regulators to reverse course.

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Associated Press journalists Amanda Seitz and Matthew Perrone in Washington contributed to this report.