By Big Tobacco
Copyright nbcchicago
A Chicago-area business was among several targeted in a recent multistate raid from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the Food and Drug Administration over alleged ties to “illicit vaping products,” officials announced Wednesday, with the suburban location marking the largest seizure.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. traveled to Illinois Wednesday to announce the results of the raids, highlighting a company in northwest suburban Bensenville, which saw more than 600,000 units of allegedly illegal products seized in what was considered to be the largest of the reported raids.
The so-called “seizure operation,” a joint effort from the ATF and FDA, targeted five distributors and nine retailers across six states.
The businesses were accused of distributing vaping products that included illegal flavors, THC-infused vapes and products containing 7-OH, an illegal compound with opioid-like effects derived from kratom plants.
The Supreme Court in April ruled in favor of the FDA over its refusal to approve flavored e-cigarettes, which they said posed a health risk for young people.
The Wednesday morning raids were conducted in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey and North Carolina, though the largest seizure was reported at Midwest Goods in Bensenville.
In a statement, Midwest Goods said it was “fully cooperating with the authorities.”
“Midwest has always attempted to work cooperatively with FDA. After a recent FDA inspection in August, we advised FDA that we had removed from our product catalog and inventory several ENDS [Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems] products about which FDA inspectors had inquired,” the company said in a statement. “We also offered to remove other ENDS products from our product catalog if FDA was concerned about our continuing to offer them for sale. FDA acknowledged receipt of our correspondence, but did not request that we stop selling any other products.”
Kennedy had previously identified illicit vaping products shipped into the U.S. from China as a priority for the health department.
In December 2024, Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi launched an inquiry into illegal vape imports from China to the United States, highlighting that he sent six letters to U.S.-based wholesalers and distributers of illicit vapes, with Midwest Goods among the companies listed. The letters asked “for details regarding these U.S. companies’ compliance with FDA requirements, sale of products that target children, and importation of illicit products and devices from the PRC.”
In its statement, Midwest Goods questioned the timing of the raids while saying it would “vindicate our rights in court,” if needed.
“We find FDA’s actions particularly troubling given reports earlier this week that FDA plans to expedite within a matter of months reviews of several tobacco products manufactured by Big Tobacco companies, including, to our understanding, products with applications submitted years after some of the products FDA is seizing from our warehouse, as well as other reports that Big Tobacco is now actively marketing its own disposable ENDS products that lack premarket authorization,” the statement read. “Nevertheless, Midwest intends to continue to cooperate with federal authorities and, if necessary, to vindicate our rights in court.”
