The investigation began several months ago, and Wednesday morning a multi-agency operation hit the Midwest Goods warehouse in Bensenville, seizing what authorities said amounts to millions of dollars of illicit vaping and e-cigarette products.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the Chicago area and spoke about the raid at a press conference.
The video in the player above is from a previous report.
It was an early morning raid. It was not an ICE raid and had nothing to do with Operation Midway Blitz.
The federal agents seen on the property were all wearing U.S. Marshals' vests. An armored vehicle was also on the scene.
Federal authorities seen conducting raid at warehouse in Bensenville
The Department of Justice put on display what they call dangerous vaping and e-cigarette products. Many of them are flavored, which Attorney General Bondi says are illegal and marketed to young people.
"Many of these products were smuggled in from China, circumventing regulations," Bondi said. "They often contain undisclosed or untested chemicals which fail to meet FDA safety standards."
Officials said many of the products are considered so dangerous they can't be sold in China. They contain high doses of nicotine, and sometimes THC. The FDA commissioner says 85% of products sold in retails stores are illegal.
The five-state operation represents the largest seizure in agency history.
"We cannot allow this epidemic of childhood vaping to go on without us recognizing what's going on," FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said. "We have to educate houses of worship, school districts, parents, teachers, we need everybody's help."
The raid comes as Chicago has been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, now going on its third week, which is why community members flocked to the scene to see what was going on.
Prtizker speaks on warehouse raid in Chicago suburb
Armed U.S. Marshals were seen coming and going from the warehouse after the raid.
The company putting out a statement, saying "FDA has allowed most, if not all, of these products to be marketed and sold while these premarket applications remain pending... Midwest intends to continue to cooperate with federal authorities and, if necessary, to vindicate our rights in court."
"Let this be a clear message to the retailers and the distributors pushing these illicit vaping products on our kids and on our families," Bondi said. "This ends today. This is your final warning."
An industry representative says what happened Wednesday could snuff out much of the vaping industry.
"When you go after distributors, that means everyone downstream, including all the small mom and pop businesses that they supply, will have to shut down," said Tony Abboud with the Vapor Technology Association.
It was a civil seizure, but Attorney General Bondi says that charges are possible as this investigation progresses.
"They're making products there are so dangerous they can't sell it to their own citizens and they're dumping them right here in our country," Kennedy Jr. said.
Midwest Distribution, also known online as Midwest Goods, describes itself as a wholesale business to business distributor of vape and electronic-cigarette supplies, as well as smoke shop, headshop and dispensary supplies. The website lists 24 different brands that they sell. The company is registered with the Illinois Secretary of State's office as a domestic/foreign corporation.
Midwest Goods issued the following full statement:
"This morning, Food and Drug Administration agents and U.S. marshals executed a civil seizure warrant at our facilities. Midwest is fully cooperating with the authorities as they conduct this court-authorized activity.
"The vast majority of the products listed on the warrant are over 75 brands of bottled e-liquids for use in refillable, open-system electronic nicotine delivery system ("ENDS") devices. These bottled e-liquids that are manufactured by U.S. companies here in the United States that employ hundreds, if not thousands, of U.S. workers. Many of these products, to our understanding, have premarket tobacco product applications that are among the hundreds of thousands of applications that have been pending with FDA for years, even though the relevant provision of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requires FDA to make determinations on such applications with 180 days of their submission. These e-liquid products include products for which the applications have been pending since the original deadline of September 9, 2020-over five years ago. To our understanding, prior to today's enforcement action, FDA has allowed most, if not all, of these products to be marketed and sold while these premarket applications remain pending. It is the availability of these far less harmful products that have pushed U.S. cigarette smoking rates to record lows in recent years. And the CDC's 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that fewer than 6% of youth that use ENDS products use devices compatible with bottled e-liquids.
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 products about which FDA inspectors had inquired. 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.
"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. Nevertheless, Midwest intends to continue to cooperate with federal authorities and, if necessary, to vindicate our rights in court."