An Giang Customs busts illegal transportation of cash and gold across border gate

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	An Giang Customs seizes smuggled goods worth over VND1 billion
	A truck transporting goods worth VND1.5 billion suspected of smuggling

Customs officers of Vinh Xuong International Border Gate Customs Branch inspect imported goods. Photo: T.H

Illegally transporting cash and gold across the border gate

After investigating and working with competent agencies, Manager of Vinh Xuong International Border Gate Customs Branch, Tran Tan Loi signed a decision to prosecute the criminal case of illegal currency transportation across Vinh Xuong Border Gate and transferred the file to the Police agencies for further investigation.

According to the branch, on January 19, the branch and the local Border Guard coordinated the An Giang Inter-sectoral Anti-smuggling Team to inspect a truck moving from Cambodia to Vietnam. Through the inspection, the competent forces detected a total VND360,500 million hidden inside a black bag behind the driver's seat without customs declaration. The case was assigned to the local customs branch.

Driver Nguyen Vo Phuoc, 30, residing in Long An commune, Tan Chau town, An Giang said that he lived with his wife's family, and had no house, so he brought all his saved money with him. He did not understand regulations on carrying money across the border, so did not declare customs.

Many other cases of illegal transportation of goods across the border gate have been busted by the local department.

Recently, Khanh Binh Border Gate Customs Branch has transferred a gold smuggling case to the Police.

At the end of January, Mr. Vat Nin, 41, drove a vehicle to the Khanh Binh Border Gate to carry out procedures for vegetable delivery. During the customs process, he said there were no goods in the car and did not make customs declaration. Khanh Binh Border Gate Customs Branch coordinated with the Border Guard to inspect the vehicle when it moved to the exit border gate, and detected over VND11.6 million, and 390 grams of 18K gold.

Nin said that he received the smuggled cash and gold from an unknown person at the Vietnam-Cambodia Border Gate to deliver to a woman named Ngan.

Coordinating with competent agencies

According to An Giang Customs Department, the import and export activities at the border gate are recovering after the public health crisis. The local department has strictly controlled the area and detected many smuggling cases.

In addition to seizures of smuggled cash and gold, customs units have discovered many cases of illegal imports. Notably, officers of Khanh Binh Customs Branch and Long Binh Border Guard inspected a barge carrying 30 undeclared spare parts of a rice polisher. Mr. Nguyen Huu Thua, the owner and also the driver of the vehicle, did not submit any legal documents and invoices to the customs.

Manager of Vinh Xuong International Border Gate said there are many checkpoints at border gate routes of pandemic prevention forces and inter-sectional working teams, so the smuggling and trade fraud in the area is under control. However, due to increasing demand during the Lunar New Year, smugglers have still illegally transported goods across border crossings.