Ho Chi Minh City Customs, Police, and Border Guards signed regulations on drug prevention

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Leaders of the three units signed a regulation on coordination in drug prevention.

On June 15, 2023, leaders of three units in Ho Chi Minh City, including the Customs Department, Public Security and Border Guard, signed a regulation on coordination in state management, fight against crime and drug-related violations in Ho Chi Minh City.

Attending the signing ceremony were Ms Pham Thi Hong Ha, Deputy Head of the Department of Internal Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City; Major General Le Hong Nam, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Public Security; Colonel Tran Thanh Duc, Commander of the Border Guard Department of Ho Chi Minh City; Director of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department Dinh Ngoc Thang; key leaders and officials of the three participating units, etc.

Speaking at the signing ceremony of regulations, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department Dinh Ngoc Thang said that, along with the large scale of the management area, the constant growth of import-export at Ho Chi Minh City border gates has hidden many potential dangers, opportunities for smuggling in general, and illegal transportation of narcotics and precursors in particular. This poses a challenge to the state management of customs when the unit has to perform both tasks at the same time, which is to both facilitate import and export activities, meet the requirements of integration and development, must ensure well the prevention of smuggling, trade fraud, and the prevention of illegal transportation of narcotics and precursors to protect national sovereignty and security.

With the assigned tasks, over the years, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has always identified drug prevention as one of the top key tasks of the unit and has developed and implemented many plans and projects to fight against this dangerous crime.

In fact, in the past 5 years, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has arrested 315 drug cases, seizing over 1 ton of drugs of all kinds. Each year, the number of cases and material evidence detected and seized by the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department increased compared to the previous year.

Major General Le Hong Nam, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department, presented souvenirs to the Director of Ho Chi Minh City Customs, Dinh Ngoc Thang (left) and the Commander of the HCMC Border Guards Tran Thanh Duc.

Having achieved the above results, in addition to the efforts of officials in the unit, the coordination of units in the Customs sector, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has always received support and coordination very closely, actively and effectively from the police and border guard forces in providing initial information, coordinating in the seizure, inspection and identification of exhibits of violations, etc., especially in the expansion of investigation and arrest of the leaders.

In the current context, drug crime on the roads and areas under the management of the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City, particularly, and Ho Chi Minh City in general, is developing very complicatedly.

There are many transnational drug crime organizations and domestic drug criminals in close cooperation with foreign countries with many new and very sophisticated tricks. In particular, the subjects took advantage of hiding drugs in goods sent through postal services, couriers, airlines, and seaports with more sophisticated and dangerous activity levels, hidden tricks, and means of transportation.

In the face of the above situation, for the drug prevention and control work in Ho Chi Minh City to be most effective, it is necessary to have synergy and close coordination of units in the area, and leaders of the units have agreed to sign the agreement "Regulations on coordination between the Customs Department, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department and the Ho Chi Minh City Border Guard in state management; fight against crime and drug-related violations in Ho Chi Minh City".

This is an urgent and objective requirement in the new situation to improve the quality and effectiveness of drug prevention and control while overcoming the limitations in the coordination work over the past time and at the same time, implementing other relevant legal provisions more effectively. In particular, the regulations on the functions, tasks and areas of operation of the forces under the Law on Customs, the Law on Border Guard, the Law on People's Public Security, etc., are in line with the spirit of direction from the Prime Minister. to local authorities, including the project "Improve the effectiveness of drug prevention and control in the city in the period of 2020-2030" issued by the Steering Committee 138 of Ho Chi Minh City.

Delegates attending the signing ceremony of regulations on taking souvenir photos

The leaders of the three units expected that the contents specified in the coordination regulations would facilitate the combat forces of each unit to perform most effectively and support each other to make more achievements in drug prevention and control in general and illegal cross-border transportation of narcotics and precursors in particular, contributing to maintaining economic security, social order and safety.

The signing of the Regulation on coordination in the "Month of Action on Drug Prevention and Control" is even more meaningful, marking the determination and initiative of the forces and the whole political system working together and willing to take active and strong action to realize the goal of "for a drug-free community" following the theme "Action month on drug prevention and control" implemented by the Government.