Lang Son Customs: drastically prevent smuggled firecrackers at the end of the year

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Customs officers and Border Guard officers in collaboration to arrest the firecracker smuggling across Tan Thanh border. Photo: H. Nu

Increasingly hotter day by day

Talking with a Customs Newspaper reporter, Mr. Hoang Khanh Hoa, Director of Lang Son Customs Department said that the trading and transportation of firecrackers across Lang Son border takes place all the time during the year, but especially at the end of the year, these activities increase.

Smuggling methods and tricks are also very sophisticated. Smugglers surreptitiously travel to China to buy firecrackers and hide them in common cargo boxes, and then hire border residents to carry them along the trails into Vietnam. Then, the boxes are separated and transported inland for consumption.

In particular, before, during and after the annual Lunar New Year, firecracker-related violations tend to increase and focus on young people in remote areas. At the same time, the super profits earned from trading in smuggled firecrackers are still the main reason for the existence of trading and transporting across the border.

The illegal trading and transportation of firecrackers usually takes place on the two sides of the borders of Tan Thanh, Huu Nghi, Coc Nam, Chi Ma and Dong Dang township. Smuggled items are fireworks, round firecrackers, small firecrackers, etc. Smugglers use vehicles for carrying import and export goods to hide the smuggled items in the bottom, trunk, in the luggage, or hide the smuggled goods in vehicles on entry and exit and imported goods across the border, and so on. In particular, the smugglers often take advantage of the night and complicated terrains to hire porters to carry firecrackers from China to Vietnam through the trails and then transport the firecrackers by motorbike to the inland.

Typically, on the night of December 6, 2018, during the control process in Keo Nham area, Dong Dang township, the control force of Huu Nghi border gate Customs Branch collaborated, detected and arrested two men who were carrying goods from China through a trail into Vietnam. Through inspection, the working group discovered that the goods were 154 kgs of firecrackers. Earlier, on November 16, 2018, Chi Ma Customs also cooperated with competent forces in the locality to arrest two men who were carrying 55 kgs of firecrackers across the border.

According to statistics, from the beginning of 2018 until now, Lang Son Customs has chaired and coordinated to detect 26 cases with an amount of 1,649.36 kgs of firecrackers, of which in 8 cases the owners were identified, and 18 cases were unknown. In particular, the unit has independently discovered, arrested and handled 9 cases, seized 155.46 kgs of firecrackers of all kinds with 1 offender; presided over and coordinated with Border Guard force and police force to arrest 7 cases, seized 712.3 kgs of firecrackers with 6 offenders; coordinated with other competent forces to arrest 10 cases and seized 781.6 kgs of firecrackers with 5 offenders.

Strict control 24/24

Also according to the competent forces, with the high profits earned from this special commodity, it makes smugglers persistent and to not give up, they use many evasive tricks for transporting for inland consumption. Each line of small firecrackers purchased from the other side of the border costs only VND 30 to 40,000, but when it is transported into inland provinces, it is possible to sell at a price 5 to 7 times higher.

Therefore, smugglers use a variety of tricks to bring the goods into domestic markets for profit. One of the reasons that aids smuggled firecrackers to penetrate inland is the demand in recent times from some people that still sneakily buy and use firecrackers on holidays and Tet.

According to Mr. Hoa, because of the end of the year and the demand for consumption and use of firecrackers, to effectively combat against the problem of across-border firecracker smuggling, Lang Son Customs has deployed and formulated many plans to fight and guide border units to implement drastically. In particular, Lang Son Customs has assigned a force to strictly control 24/24 at hotspots, coordinated with competent forces to strengthen the fight against smuggling and illegal transportation of goods across the border, including firecrackers.

"Lang Son Customs also actively propagated and encouraged people, individuals, organizations and enterprises regularly importing and exporting goods through the area to understand the regulations on prohibition of trade, transportation, hoarding and use of firecrackers. The Department collaborated to distribute leaflets to border residents to advise not to participate in illegal trading, transportation and use of firecrackers.

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Border-gate Customs units have also strengthened coordination with competent forces to regularly check and strictly control means of transporting import and export goods through the area, trails, shortcuts, on both sides of the border gate to detect, prevent and arrest in an effective manner,” Mr. Hoang Khanh Hoa emphasized.