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Customs and Border Guard at Vung Ang - Son Duong port patrol and control Son Duong seaport area. Photo: The Manh

Results of solidarity

Evaluating the performance in the 2019-2024 period, Ha Tinh Customs - Border Guard actively and proactively coordinated in exchanging information and situations; inspecting and controlling vehicles, passengers entering and leaving the country, import and export goods on border gates; in fighting against drug-related crimes; preventing and combating smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods and illegal transportation of goods through border gates and seaports.

Notably, when the Covid-19 pandemic situation became complicated (2019-2021), the two units coordinated and agreed to arrange officers working at the border gate, properly implementing the control process, ensuring strictness but still creating favorable conditions for the activities of import and export enterprises and passengers entering and leaving the border.

Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Nguyen, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Ha Tinh Provincial Border Guard, said that as a core and specialized force, Ha Tinh Border Guard has proactively coordinated with Ha Tinh Customs to focus on implementing solutions, successfully completing assigned tasks, contributing to protecting territorial sovereignty and national border security.

Accordingly, in the past years, through various forms of information exchange, the two units have exchanged and received 507 pieces of information related to the protection of national sovereignty and border security, the fight against crimes, smuggling, and trade fraud through border gates and seaports; coordinated together to conduct 616 patrols with 2,680 officers and soldiers at road and coastal border gates.

On the road, the two units have proactively and effectively carried out the exchange of information and shared experiences in controlling import and export, and fighting against all types of crimes. In the special cases, the two sides coordinated smoothly in patrolling, inspecting and handling cases.

Accordingly, the forces handed 88 cases with 208 offenders of security and order; 74 cases with 52 criminals of smuggling and illegally transporting goods, the estimated value of goods was over VND3.7 billion; 95 cases with 124 drug traffickers, seized evidence of 343.3 kg of crystal meth, 90 heroin packages, 344,791 pink pills, 23.1 kg of katemin, 15 kg of marijuana, 45,000 ecstasy pills...

At the sea route, the two units coordinated together in patrols and controls and handled acts of violating border security, illegal immigration, smuggling, transportation of contraband goods, drugs, weapons, toxic cultural products...

At Vung Ang - Son Duong port, during the five years, the two units exchanged, inspected, controlled, and processed immigration procedures for 3,693 vehicles with 71,000 crew members; 434 vehicles with 7,755 crew members; issued 2,293 disembarkation permits, 376 shore passes for foreign crew members, and 61 visas. The Customs processed 32,000 sets of declarations with a total import-export turnover through Vung Ang - Son Duong port reaching nearly US$16.3 billion.

According to Director of Ha Tinh Customs Department Bui Thanh San, in addition to the above the results, the two units coordinated in effectively implementing the National Single Window Mechanism and the ASEAN Single Window Mechanism, creating favorable conditions for continuing deep and wide international integration, promoting trade expansion.

Focusing on preventing crimes from the border

According to the general assessment, criminals are operating more and more sophisticatedly and recklessly, they often use tricks to conceal goods on means of transport, imported goods, bulky transit goods; hide prohibited goods, drugs in containers, homemade tunnels, reinforced compartments that make it difficult for the authorities to identify violations.

Meanwhile, information sharing between the two agencies still faces many shortcomings due to the lack of a shared connection system, leading to a situation where information is not updated promptly and completely.

Speaking at the inspection and assessment of the results of the coordination work in performing the tasks of the two units in Ha Tinh from 2019 to 2024, on September 5 and 6, 2024, Deputy Director of the Anti-smuggling and Investigation Department (General Department of Customs) Nguyen Minh Tuan said that, based on the complicated situation and developments on the border lines and in the world affecting import-export activities, Ha Tinh Customs and Border Guard need to continue to work closely to improve the effectiveness of coordination, exchange, provide information and documents in conjunction with the unified implementation of the command and direction mechanism.

Deputy Director Nguyen Minh Tuan suggested that the two units continue to effectively implement the coordination regulations, especially enhancing the exchange of information and situations, and handling problems; coordinate well in inspecting and controlling vehicles, passengers, import and export goods; prevent and strictly handle violations of the law; coordinate in information sharing and implementing regulations and policies on import and export, contributing to attracting and promoting import and export activities and ensuring security and order at border gates and seaports.

Colonel Phan Huu Tiep, Deputy Director of the Border Gate Department (Border Guard Command) also said that the two units continue to concretize, seriously and effectively implement the coordination in performing tasks; strengthen coordination in patrolling, controlling, detecting, preventing, investigating and handling crimes and violations of the law; build a strong, disciplined, modern, and honest border control force to meet requirements and tasks.

In particular, Ha Tinh Customs and Border Guard need to coordinate, promote administrative reform, improve the quality of task performance of the two units at border gates and seaports of important and practical significance, contributing to socio-economic development, firmly protecting national sovereignty and security, and promoting comprehensive and extensive international integration