Dong Thap Customs prevents many cases of illegal currency transportation

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	Clandestinely transport contraband cargo across the Dong Thap Border

An object illegally transporting VND 280 million across the border discovered by Dinh Ba Customs.

Money and foreign currencies are sneakily smuggled through the border gate

On July 9, 2023, Dinh Ba border gate Customs Branch discovered Mr. Nguyen Duc Duy Linh (living in Hong Ngu City, Dong Thap Province) driving a motorbike with the license plate 66F1-054.47 to the exit gate of the Inter-sectoral control of Dinh Ba international border gate. When he arrived at the Customs inspection area, Mr. Linh did not make a declaration about the goods and luggage he brought with him. Suspecting that there were goods hidden in the trunk, the customs officer on duty asked Mr. Linh to present papers and open the trunk of his motorcycle to check. The results were found in the trunk of Mr. Linh's motorbike, which hid 280 million VND, without customs declaration.

In the first 6 months of 2023, Dong Thap Customs Department presided over the detection and arrest of 36 cases of customs law violations, including 25 cases of illegal transportation of goods; the value of infringing goods is over 1.2 billion dongs; coordinated to arrest 5 cases of drugs, wild animals, etc.

Working with Customs, Mr. Nguyen Duc Duy Linh initially said that his money was brought to Cambodia to pay debts for his aunt in Ho Luong - Cambodia. Because he did not know that bringing money through the border gate must declare by customs, he did not declare it.

According to the Dong Thap Customs Department, although the situation of smuggling through the border gates is not complicated, the illegal transportation of currency across the Dong Thap border in the past time has still taken place stealthily. The agency has controlled, detected, and prevented many cases. Previously, at the road entry station at Thuong Phuoc international border gate, the customs officers here checked the luggage of a woman who entered Vietnam from Cambodia and discovered that this person was hidden in her handbag over VND 167 million, but did not declare customs when doing immigration procedures.

According to the customs officers who discovered the case, the woman was carrying a handbag, presented a citizen ID card named Diep Thi My Chau (address of Khanh Binh commune, An Phu district, An Giang province), and asked to enter Vietnam. When she was allowed to enter the country by the border force, this woman did not declare any goods to the Customs force who was on duty at the border gate. However, when the Customs force asked Mrs. Diep Thi My Chau to open her bag to check, she reluctantly took out two piles of money hidden in the bag. Thuong Phuoc Border Gate Customs Branch determined that Ms. Chau had illegally transported Vietnamese dong across the border as prescribed in Article 13 of Decree No. 128/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020. The government should have made a record of administrative violations in the field of customs for Ms. Chau.

Not only illegally transporting Vietnamese money across the border, Dong Thap Customs Department also discovered objects that illegally transported foreign currency with very reckless tricks. At the end of 2022, Tan Hong District Police prosecuted the criminal case "Illegal transportation of foreign currency across the border" that occurred at Dinh Ba border gate inter-branch checkpoint; At the same time, the police agency issued a decision to prosecute the accused against Phan Ngoc Tien for the crime of "illegally transporting currency across the border".

Previously, on November 15, 2022, Dong Thap Customs discovered that Mr. Phan Ngoc Tien, born in 1978, at Dinh Ba hamlet, Tan Ho Co commune, Tan Hong district, Dong Thap province, was driving a motorcycle with a license plate 66K1-105.20 to the exit gate Inter-sectoral checkpoint at Dinh Ba international border gate but did not stop to declare and carry out cross-border exit procedures as prescribed. Customs officers of Dinh Ba International Border Gate Customs Branch and Dinh Ba International Border Gate Border Guard Station asked Mr. Tien to stop the vehicle for inspection. Through checking the trunk of Phan Ngoc Tien's motorbike, the working group discovered that there were 200,000 USD that did not declare customs when leaving the country. The Dinh Ba border gate Customs Branch made a record of violations, sealed the exhibits, and handed them over to the police for investigation according to their competence.

Effective control and prevention of smuggling

According to the assessment of Dong Thap Customs Department, the situation of smuggling and illegal transportation of goods across the border in the first 6 months of 2023 is not complicated but has increased at some times due to the increasing consumer demand. Smuggled goods are mainly foreign cigarettes and crystallized sugar, the subjects mostly take advantage of the dark night to gather goods near the border area, waiting for the opportunity to transport them inland.

According to the captain of the Customs Control Team Nguyen Huu Tam, the route of Coi Dai Canal to the junction of Coi Dai - Coi Tieu Canal in Binh Hoa Trung hamlet, Thuong Thoi Hau A commune, Hong Ngu district is one of the most important routes of illegal goods transportation at present. At this route, the subjects took advantage of the common river between Vietnam and Cambodia to gather smuggled goods and use motorboats to transport them to Vietnam at night.

In order to control and prevent illegal cross-border transport of goods, Dong Thap Customs Department has effectively developed and implemented a customs control plan in 2023; peak anti-smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods before, during, and after the Lunar New Year in 2023. Simultaneously, coordinating well with functional forces to strengthen patrols, checkpoints, and anti-trafficking control smuggling, illegally transporting goods across the border, the smuggling situation is controlled and in the management area, there are no large and organized smuggling lines and groups.

Assessing that in the last 6 months of 2023, the situation of smuggling and illegal goods transportation will have complicated developments, leaders of Dong Thap Customs Department directed border gate customs branches to strictly manage the assigned areas so as to ensure that smuggling activities are always controlled and that there is no smuggling or transportation of drugs, banned goods, high-value goods, organized activities. The Customs Control Team strengthens patrols and controls the sub-border gates where there are no customs, trails, or openings; ensures strict and timely arrest of violations. Strengthening the review of areas and subjects related to drugs to use professional measures to fight against.