30 cases of smuggling and trade fraud prosecuted in the first 9 months of 2016

	Smuggling 800 kg star anise from China
	2 tons of smuggled ivory at Cat Lai port were African ivory
	Binh Phuoc: Seized nearly 120,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes

Nearly 100 tons of aluminum were "disguised" under the rags. Photo: Hong Vi.

The above results show that there have been positive changes in the compliance with Customs Law in recent years. The effectiveness of investigation and handling of cases of criminal violations as well as the number of detected criminal penalties increased significantly every year. Many units have made efforts and drastic measures to maximize the competence of Customs authorities in the prosecution of violated incidents, such as the Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department, the Hai Phong Department of Customs, the Tay Ninh Department of Customs, the Quang Ninh Department of Customs, and the Ha Noi Department of Customs.

Notably, there were violations which used to have administrative sanctions applied in the past, but now they can be prosecuted as criminal violations. For example, the violation of Phu Duc Co., Ltd. at Tien Sa port (Da Nang) which smuggled Chinese goods to evade tax; 2 cases of smuggling of wild animals and plants at Tien Sa port; 3 cases using the temporary import for re-export method for smuggling used cars at Saigon port, Zone I, Zone IV (HCM); Danang; 7 cases of illegal transportation of gold statues at Noi Bai International Airport; a case of illegally transporting 2,020 kilograms of fireworks on Tau Dan sea (Mong Cai, Quang Ninh); and a case of illegally transporting cosmetics worth more than 680 million vnd at Chua Ve port (Hai Phong), etc.

Mr. Nguyen Phi Hung stressed that although there were positive and encouraging results, the operations against smuggling and trade fraud were not closely monitored, leading to errors in the detection of crime. Until now, Customs has destroyed more than 3,000 cases of smuggling and trade fraud, however, the number of cases for prosecution has been very few. Specifically, from 2011 to date, Customs authorities have only prosecuted 147 cases and transferred 481 cases to other agencies for prosecution.

In particular, the An Giang Department of Customs has prosecuted one case and transferred 14 cases to other agencies for prosecution; the Cao Bang Department of Customs has prosecuted 2 cases and transferred 30 cases to other agencies for prosecution; the Dong Thap Department of Customs has prosecuted 6 cases and transferred 2 cases to other agencies for prosecution; the Hanoi Department of Customs has prosecuted 2 cases and transferred 34 cases to other agencies for prosecution; the Hai Phong Department of Customs has prosecuted 34 cases and transferred 8 cases to other agencies for prosecution; the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Customs has prosecuted 4 cases and transferred 115 cases to other agencies for prosecution; the Nghe An Department of Customs has prosecuted one case and transferred 77 cases to other agencies for prosecution; the Quang Binh Department of Customs has prosecuted 3 cases and transferred 10 cases to other agencies for prosecution; the Quang Ninh Department of Customs has prosecuted 23 cases and transferred 116 cases to other agencies for prosecution; the Quang Tri Department of Customs has prosecuted 5 cases and transferred 3 cases to other agencies for prosecution; the Tay Ninh Department of Customs has prosecuted 21 cases and transferred 17 cases to other agencies for prosecution; and the Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department has prosecuted 73 cases and transferred 7 cases to other agencies for prosecution.

However, the efforts of the Departments in the first 9 months of 2016 have not been equal, especially some Departments have had no prosecution cases such as: Ho Chi Minh City, Lang Son, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Binh Duong, and Long An, etc.

In the near future, in order to further enhance the effectiveness of the fight against smuggling, we must strengthen the detection and treatment of cases of violations with criminal signs, Mr. Nguyen Phi Hung said that Departments needed to review statistics and reports of cases with criminal signs, transfer cases to other agencies for prosecution if necessary, and aggressively handle the violations.

Seized 2,500 packs of smuggled cigarettes VCN – A car which transported 2,500 packs of smuggled cigarettes, has been arrested by Integrated Control ...

When conducting investigation, if the Departments under the General Department of Vietnam Customs detect signs of behaviors of violations of the Customs Law, they must prosecute under their jurisdiction in accordance with the Law. They should only transfer cases of violations to other agencies for prosecution if the cases are not under the jurisdiction of the Customs.