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The shipment of banned goods of L.V Co., Ltd. Photo: T.H

The above shipment belongs to Bill of Lading YMLUI 263805070, which is declared on the e-manifest as used tractors. The consignee is L.V Co., Ltd., (referred to as L.V Company). The shipment was imported to Cat Lai port at the beginning of 2018. Through reviewing backlogged containers that were out of expiry date of Customs clearance at Cat Lai port, Customs Branch of Sai Gon port zone 1 has screened and suspected that L.V company committed the act of transporting illegal goods to Vietnam.Customs Branch of Sai Gon port zone 1 has transferred the record of smuggling case of L.V Co., Ltd., to the Investigation Police Agency of Ho Chi Minh City Public Security for investigation and settlement under their competence.

On 29 March 2018, the Branch issued a Decision to inspect the means of transport and items according to administrative procedures and discovered that there were tractors in the container as declared on the e-manifest. In the container, there were also banned goods, including 99 A/C condensers, 95 coolers, 279 bicycles missing parts such as saddles, pedal, rims, tires… and 3 electric bicycles. All goods are second hand and worth VND 730 millions.

After the Customs Branch of Sai Gon port zone detected the shipment of banned goods, L.V company sent an official dispatch to the customs office to refuse to receive the above shipment of Bill of Lading YMLUI263805070, with the reason that the company did not sign a contract to buy the above goods with a foreign party.

According to the leader of the Customs Branch of Sai Gon port zone 1, when the customs office detected suspicious goods, L.V company did not carry out procedures to receive the shipment, the Branch sent an invitation to the company for witnessing the physical inspection of the shipment, but the company’s representative did not come. According to the Customs Branch of Sai Gon port zone 1, L.V company committed acts of importing banned goods and taking advantage of the companys’ establishment to operate illegally. The company was aware of these acts so it did not come to carry out the procedures as well as witness the inspection under the Customs request.

With the above reasons, on the basis of the results of verification, investigation and considering the nature of the severity of the case; Pursuant to the 2014 Law on Customs, the Criminal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2017); The Law on Organization of Criminal Investigation Agency, in order for the case to be handled strictly and in accordance with the law, the Customs Branch of Sai Gon port zone 1 has transferred the case to the HCMC People's Procuracy for consideration and approval for the Customs Office to prosecute the case and transfer the case record to the Investigation Police Agency of Ho Chi Minh City public security for further investigation and verification.

Through studying the records, representatives of HCMC People's Procuracy stated that the act of importing 99 A/C condensers, 95 coolers, 279 bicycles with insufficient parts such as saddles, pedal, rims, tires… and 3 electric bicycles, which are all second hand, by TM L.V, showed the signs of smuggling according to the provisions of Article 188 of the Criminal Code 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2017) need to be further verified and investigated.

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Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy requests the Customs Branch of Sai Gon port border zone 1 to transfer the record to the investigation agency of HCMC Public Security for settlement under its competence.