Strengthen coordination to ensure security and combat smuggling by air

GDVC's Deputy Director General Luu Manh Tuong at the conference. Photo: T.D

This is the first conference organized by two authorities as members of the National Civil Aviation Security Committee (the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and the GDVC) for leaders of GDVC's departments and units under the aviation industry in cooperation at international airports.

The conference was chaired by the Deputy Director General of GDVC, Luu Manh Tuong, and attended by the Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Dinh Viet Son; representatives of the Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department, the Customs Control and Supervision Department; representatives of local customs departments of HCM City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Binh Dinh, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Can Tho, Thua Thien Hue, Kien Giang, Quang Binh, Nghe An, Dak Lak; and representatives of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam, Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM), Vietnamese airlines...

Ensuring aviation security

At the conference, Deputy Director General Luu Manh Tuong said that the GDVC and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam have effectively coordinated to perform their tasks well. However, after the pandemic, the goods and passengers going through customs procedures across airports increasingly surged, requiring further coordination between the two authorities.

"Through the training conference, I hope it will be an opportunity for the two forces to discuss and share experience and useful knowledge to perform their duties and remove obstacles in performance promptly. Therefore, the GDVC and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam will collaborate more effectively to maintain national security sovereignty, political security, social safety, and economic development.

At the conference, the representative of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam provided the contents of the Aviation Security Management System, aviation security risk management and overall plan to deal with illegal interference in civil aviation activities.

Head of the Aviation Security Department, Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam To Tu Hung said that the country has 22 airports operating commercial flights (nine international airports and 13 domestic airports), 1 airport for general aviation (Vung Tau Airport) and several landing sites for aircraft.

Ensuring aviation security is a key task of the State, Government and Vietnam's civil aviation industry. Over the past time, law enforcement forces have provided solutions to ensure aviation security to protect human life and property in civil activities; protect aircraft and, works, equipment at airports; to deal with unlawful interference, contributing to protecting national security, maintaining social order and safety at aviation operation areas. Strengthen coordination to ensure security and prevent and combat smuggling by air.

The training conference takes place from May 23 to 24.

Focusing on smuggling

In 2014, Vietnam officially launched the National Single Window, which is an important foundation for implementing the ASEAN Single Window in line with the commitments and roadmap of countries in the region.

The Ministry of Finance (the General Department of Vietnam Customs) has coordinated with the ministries and sectors to implement administrative procedures related to the State management for passengers, luggage and means of transport on entry and exit; Import and export and transit goods at international airports across the National Single Window since 2017.

Deputy Director of Customs I.T. and Statistics Department Pham Duyen Phuong said that the system had received over 1 million records related to flights on exit, entry and transit at Vietnam's international airlines that are declared by airlines via the National Single Window.

This information supports state authorities and businesses carry out administrative procedures and state management at international airports. However, there are still some problems and difficulties in the standardization of information, policies, laws and procedures, information technology systems, etc., which need to be resolved to improve the quality and effectiveness of information in duty performance.

The smuggling and illegal transportation of goods, currency and drugs by air has increased. Smugglers have abused policies on trade facilitation, the development of e-commerce, and express delivery services to collude with foreign parties to set up smuggling and illegal transportation rings to transport banned goods, conditional goods, and goods affecting national security and community safety across international airports with increasingly sophisticated methods and tricks, especially at major international airports such as Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai.

At the conference, HCM City Customs Department and Hanoi Customs Department representatives reported on the results and experiences in preventing and combating smuggling and illegal transportation of drugs by air of the Customs and other forces.

Mr Phan Nhu Thao, Deputy Manager of the Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch, said that in the first quarter of 2023, the branch handled 13 drug-related crimes and seized 4.4 kg of marijuana and 30.5kg of drugs. Deputy Director of Hanoi Customs Department Nguyen Truong Giang said that from the early year, the department handled 12 smuggling cases, commercial fraud, and illegal transporting of goods by air. It has also prosecuted four criminal cases, transferred two cases to other agencies, and seized infringing goods such as used mobile phones, gold, rhino horn, ivory, medicines, and expired goods.