Siezed many cases of drug smuggling airline– Part 1: Drugs are transported by express

Drugs hidden in food boxes sent by express are seized by the Customs.

Mr. Pham Quoc Hung, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, said that from the beginning of 2017, the illegal transportation of drugs in airfreight packages has increased. The drug trafficking is very sophisticated, hidden in food boxes sent from the United States and Canada to recipients who are individuals. With the drastic direction of the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department in the implementation of the fight plan, the coordination between the forces, the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City has detected, arrested 14 cases of Illegal transfer of drugs, with a total of 28kg of marijuana, methamphetamine, and different types of cocaine.

Typically, on September 19, 2017, three packages of gifts sent from the United States to the recipients in Hai Phong Provinces, the Customs Sub-Departments detected suspected photos which may contain prohibited goods, so it collaborated with the Drug Control Team to inspect. As a result, these 3 packages contain 7.3 kilograms of cannabis flowers were hidden with sophisticated tricks. Accordingly, this number of cannabis is packed in nylon and vacuum bags, hidden in the box of raisins, to distract functional forces.

Or previously, on August 7, 2017, through the screening of a lot of gifts declared as the T-shirt sent from Canada to Vietnam, Customs Sub-Department suspected prohibited goods in this 6-kg package, thus, they opened it to examine. The results revealed that the package contained cannabis leaves hidden in the clothes. Similarly, inspection of another shipment of gifts sent from the United States to Vietnam, the Customs also discovered that more than half a kilogram of cannabis was hidden in the personal items.

According to Mr. Huynh Nam, the leaders of the Drug Control Team, not only cannabis, but heroin is also sent by express. Each pack contains drugs, the violators change the way to hide that is very sophisticated and difficult to detect without experience, alertness as well as support equipment of the Customs Departments at border gates. With the packages sent by express, drug traffickers want to hide their face, avoid being arrested when it is detected.

Not only imports, inspecting export packages, Customs officials also have high vigilance with the drugs. Recently, by checking a package of gifts sent by an individual in Binh Duong to Australia, the Customs authorities suspected, opened the inspection but found no goods excepted the range of some pants, shirts, shoes like other common gifts. However, with practical experience, watching closely the image on the scanner, the Customs officers found abnormal signs on the wall of the carton containing goods. Using a knife to cut the carton, the Customs officers discovered and seized four packets of heroin (over 900 grams) flattened, hiding in the middle of the 4 sides around the carton.

Talking to Customs News, Mr. Nguyen Van Anh, Deputy Director of Customs Sub-Department said that every day, Customs Sub-Department makes clearance procedures for more than 3,000 gift packages through e- express, in which parcels import takes a large part, about 2,600 packages. All goods are checked by the unit through the scanners. In order to prevent and detect timely the acts of violating the Customs legislation, the unit regularly warns new tricks for customs officers to know and classify goods for taking measures to control effectively...

Only in the first 9 months of 2017, the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City has detected and siezed 14 cases of illegal transport of drugs, most of which were discovered in packages of gifts from abroad with sophisticated tricks and tricky paths.

With the situation of drug traffickers using packages of gifts and presents to transport drugs by express, the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City has proposed the Ministry of Finance, The General Department of Customs to add more scanners to the customs offices at the warehouses. Besides, at present, violators often use the tricks of swallowing and stuffing drugs in their bodies, so the customs offices at the international airport borders should be equipped with a scanner.