Many ways of smuggling avoid criminal handling

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Contraband goods seized by Customs and An Giang Border Guard

Divide odd goods for transportation

In recent years, the smuggling and illegal transportation of goods across the bordersof the southwestern provinces has decreased, but it is still quite complicated, notably in regards tosmuggled cigarettes.

According to the Steering Committee of 389 in An Giang province, to transport smuggled cigarettes, the subjects constantly change tricks to evade the detection of authorities. After smuggled cigarettes weretransported into the domestic market, smuggled subjects immediately transfer to waiting motorbikes andrun at high speeds with guards and guardians on each route.

In particular, some put tobacco in storage points, and then divided into many places with insufficient quantity to avoid criminal handling. If in the past, the subjects used a vehicle to transport a large amount of smuggled cigarettes, recently, the subjects have used cars to transport, but split the goods into less than 1,500 bags. .

On August 7, in the area of Group 1, HoaPhu 3 hamlet, An Chau town, ChauThanh district, An Giang province, the Road Traffic Police Department of An Giang discovered and seized three trucks carrying a total of 4,470 bags of foreign cigarettes on the way to consume. Although they used a means of transportation to avoid regulations, subjects divided the number of cigarettes transported amongthree cars.

On the 8th of August, the anti-smuggling force of An Giang province police workedwith the Road Traffic Police Department on the patrol and control road on Highway 91, when arriving at BinhPhu 2 hamlet area, BinhHoa commune, ChauThanh district, An Giang province discovered the passenger car 65M-1274 controlled by Chau Van Sang, born in 1983, residing in An Khanh ward, NinhKieu district, Can Tho city controlled in the direction. Chau Doc - Long Xuyen transported 1,410 cigarette packs of smuggled cigarettes.

Besides, smugglers used many high-speed motorcycles, ran in groups of 2-3 units on Highway 91 andtransported from 1,000 to 1,450 packages to not enough quantify criminal handling.

The handling of smuggled cigarettes is specified in Article 191 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017. Whoever stores and transports smuggled cigarettes from 1,500 packs to less than 3,000 packs, he or she will be finedfrom VND 50,000,000 to VND 300,000,000 or a prison term of between sixmonths and threeyears. To avoid liability, smugglers use sophisticated tricks. Whether using cars, motorbikes to transport or carry illegal cigarettes, all subjects use tricks to divide with a quantity of less than 1,500 bags so as not to be criminally punished when catching or escaping with contraband goods.

“Leave smuggling goods to escape”

According to Steering Committee 389 in some southwestern border provinces, in addition to tearing goods to move to avoid criminal penalties when arrested, smugglers also abandon goods to escape when detecting relevant forces. In particular, they do not collect contraband cigarettes to store in houses and warehouses as before, but put them on vacant grounds, send guardians, wait for people to come to receive the goods, or when detected they quickly escape, leaving the contraband goods and means of transportation, so authorities struggle to capturesubjects and exhibits.

According to Dong Thap Customs Department, in the past threemonths (from June to August), the Customs Enforcement Team coordinated to tackle15 cases of smuggled cigarettes with the quantity of more than20,000 packs. But in all of these cases, the transporter gave up the goods and fled when detecting there was a functional inspection force.

According to An Giang Steering Committee 389, arrests cases are mostly small, closely controlled by related forces. However, due to the difficult economic situation in the pandemic season and the manipulation, some subjects disregarded and were reckless in their activities, the situation of the subjects was quite agile and fiercely resisted even, rushed into the relevant forces to open the escape route. Typically, the arrest of a package of interest for transporting 23,400 packages of cigarettes on the night of August 13, smugglers hit the means of transport into the related forces, causing an injury to an officer.

At arecent conference on the implementation of anti-smuggling tasks, leaders of some departments, sectors and localities raised difficulties in dealing with vehicles transporting smuggled cigarettes which are facing many difficulties due to smuggling statues deal by hiring andcontracting vehicles through many people, so only the confiscation of material evidences and means must be returned to their legal owners. Along with that, sanctioning competence of Directors of Provincial Public Security andChief of Police of districts, towns and cities is low, especially competence to handle arrests of smuggled cigarettes. Localities proposed the Provincial Steering Committee 389 to propose competent authorities soon issue a document guiding the handling of smuggled cigarettes after the Prime Minister's Decision No. 20 / QD-TTg expires from 15/6/2020 and propose the handling of confiscation of official means or appropriation, illegal use to transport smuggled cigarettes.