On March 18, information from the Investigation Police Agency of Hau Giang Province Police said that it had served decisions to prosecute the case, prosecute the accused, order to prohibit leaving the place of residence, decision to temporarily suspend exit from the country and execute a search warrant against Nguyen Phong Lai (41 years old, residing in Can Tho city) for the act of "trading in counterfeit goods".

According to the case file, on July 16, 2024, the Department of Investigation Police on Crimes of Corruption, Economy, Smuggling, and Environment (Hau Giang Provincial Police) coordinated with Market Management Team No. 1, Hau Giang Provincial Market Management Department to inspect the collection, storage, and trading point of textbooks at Road No. 1, Tay Do Ecopark residential area, Tan Phu Thanh commune, Chau Thanh A district, Hau Giang province, represented by Nguyen Phong Lai.

At the time of inspection, Nguyen Phong Lai could not provide documents related to business activities including textbooks and exercise books.

The inspection team determined that there were more than 79,000 textbooks of various types with signs of counterfeiting , so they made a record to temporarily detain and seal all of the above goods and related objects.

Through verification, the inspection team determined that Nguyen Phong Lai had signs of "trading in counterfeit goods" worth more than 1.3 billion VND, so the case file was transferred to the Investigation Police Agency of Hau Giang Provincial Police for investigation and clarification.