China News Service, Fuzhou, November 9th (Ye Xingshuai Yu Zhili Yu Zhongsheng) The Fuzhou Coast Guard Bureau disclosed on the 9th that it recently uncovered a fraud case involving people pretending to be Coast Guard law enforcement officers. It eliminated a fraud gang that was operating in coastal fishing ports in Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang, and recovered tens of thousands of yuan in defrauded money.
In June 2026, fishermen from multiple fishing ports in Lianjiang County, Fujian Province reported to the Fuzhou Coast Guard Bureau that they encountered "coast police" boarding inspections and were required to replace the canvas on site because it was "unqualified". The bureau was keenly aware of the anomalies in the police situation and dispatched law enforcement officers from the Lianjiang Work Station to the fishing port where the incident occurred. They found that a group of criminals were pretending to be Coast Guard law enforcement officers at a remote port in the jurisdiction to defraud, falsely claiming that the canvas of fishing boats did not meet safety requirements, and threatening to "detain the ship if they did not buy it", forcing the fishermen to buy the canvas they were selling at a high price.
"They said they were the coast guard, and they found that the canvas on my boat did not meet the regulations. I had to buy the canvas they brought, otherwise the boat would be detained." A fisherman who was injured later recalled that the other party was wearing military police uniforms. Out of trust in the coast guard, some fishing and boat people paid for these so-called "qualified" canvases. However, these canvases are actually ordinary dark blue fabrics with low prices, but they are forcibly sold at prices several times higher than the market price. After the canvas was sold out, the gang quickly left the crime scene.
After learning the relevant information, the Fuzhou Coast Guard quickly filed a case. The law enforcement officer judged that this was a premeditated fraud case involving impersonating the Coast Guard. However, the gang committed crimes on the fly and moved erratically, and immediately moved after they succeeded.
Faced with the difficulty of investigation, Coast Guard law enforcement officers changed their thinking and sorted out key clues from massive video surveillance. After several days of image tracking and data analysis, a suspicious vehicle with a license plate from another province came into view of the investigators, and three suspects, Bao, Gu, and Jiang, were identified.
As the investigation deepened, a seemingly ordinary piece of online shopping flow information became a breakthrough in the case. Investigators discovered that before committing the crime, the gang had purchased imitation military and police uniforms and logos in batches from the Internet many times, and the delivery locations were all directed to Haicheng, Liaoning. Based on relevant clues, the investigators peeled off the cocoon and gradually mastered the gang's complete crime pattern of "stepping in - disguise - promotion - evacuation" and found out the activities of the gang members in Liaoning.
"As soon as the fraud gang arrived in the town where the crime was committed, they would wander around in imitation clothes, pretending to perform official duties, and rent hotel warehouses to store canvases." According to the law enforcement officer handling the case, in order to speed up the fraud, the gang even used the excuse that "unit leaders should give red envelopes for their birthdays" to coerce fishermen to buy canvases at high prices and smear the image of the Coast Guard. Their behavior was quite bad.
After fully understanding the gang's structure and hiding place, Fuzhou Coast Guard and Haicheng Public Security launched a cross-provincial network. In July 2026, Coast Guard law enforcement officers went to Haicheng, Liaoning Province, arrested the criminal suspects Bao and Gu, and found a total of 29 imitation military and police clothing at Bao's residence. In September 2026, the suspect Jiang voluntarily surrendered under the pressure of being chased online. So far, all three suspects involved in the case have arrived.
After investigation, it was found that the gang has been roaming along the coasts of Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang for a long time, and specializes in remote ports to commit crimes. Its criminal area is wide and highly concealed. In addition, factors such as the fact that some fishermen who were victims did not report the crime in a timely manner have brought great challenges to the early investigation work. Coast Guard law enforcement officers fixed relevant evidence in accordance with the law and found that three suspects, Bao, Gu, and Jiang, pretended to be Coast Guard law enforcement officers and deceived them. They threatened to arrest the ship and forced the fishing boat people to buy canvas at a price three times higher than the market price, making an illegal profit of more than 20,000 yuan. In the face of conclusive evidence, the three suspects confessed to the crime. In November 2026, the case was transferred to the Procuratorate for review and prosecution. Currently, the case is under further investigation.
The coast guard agency reminds: Military and police uniforms, logos, police ranks and equipment are uniformly distributed by the state and are strictly controlled by law. Illegal sales and use are illegal and will be investigated for legal responsibility in accordance with the law. If you find someone pretending to be a Coast Guard law enforcement officer, please call 95110 to report it as soon as possible.
