Reports of smuggling have increased in the month of November, especially along railway lines. That month the department seized a large amount of goods, including 23 tonnes of fertilizer, 7,000 lighters, as well as ceramics clothes and milk products.
Seized cigarettes
The latest case occurred on December 15, in which 4,800 packs of Jet Cigarette pack were seized while being transported on a passenger bus by Thang Loi Transportation Joint Stock Company. The driver, however, said the goods belonged to two passengers who fled when the bus was checked.
Earlier, on December 3, Danang Police also found 15,000 packs of Jet Cigarettes, along with 48 bottles of Chivas when the bus was stopped near Hai Van Tunnel. The driver could not show any receipt or documents to prove the origin of the goods.Owner of the goods, Nguyen Thi Hai Yen, from Dong Ha City in Quang Tri Province, then said that the cigarette packs were hers while the wine bottles were from her friends. She was taking the goods to Da Nang City to sell.
Nguyen Van Chinh, an official of Danang Police Department, said the types of goods that are usually smuggled are cigarette, clothes, alcohol, and food, which usually come from Laos, China.
A number of illegal foreign tankers have also been seized off the coast of the northern province of Quang Ninh since the beginning of this month. On December 5, an inspection team from the Vietnam Customs Department seized a Chinese tanker transporting 180 tonnes of DO petroleum. Onn December 12, the same team seized two more Chinese tankers that trying to smuggle into the country more than 100 tonnes of petroleum.
The crew were unable to produce any documentation regarding the origins of the petroleum, worth more than VND6 billion (US$285,000).
Trafficking by sea often occurs at night with cooperation between Vietnamese and foreign smugglers, making it difficult for authorities to crack down.
Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has recently asked ministries and other concerned departments to implement strict measures to prevent smuggling.
Hai has assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to establish a task force to check for illegal trafficking, trade fraud, fake goods and contraband at border areas, especially hot spots such as Tan Thanh in Lang Son Province, Mong Cai in Quang Ninh Province, Lao Bao in Quang Tri Province, Moc Bai in Tay Ninh Province, and in major cities like Hanoi, Da Nang, HCM City.
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