Tay Ninh concentrates on anti-smuggling and against trade fraud at the end of 2022

Competent forces seized smuggled firecrackers at Moc Bai International Border Gate, Tay Ninh province. Photo: Văn Phú

Smuggling is complicated when trade recovers

Present at Moc Bai international border gate (Ben Cau district, Tay Ninh province) on the last day of October, under the electric light, the trucks carrying out import and export goods took a turn coming in and out of the border gate. In addition, intermodal buses carrying passengers on entry and exit in large numbers also operate continuously. However, customs officers at the Moc Bai border gate are still busy doing customs procedures for import and export goods, people and vehicles on entry and exit.

Manager of Moc Bai Border Gate Customs Branch Nguyen Tan Dinh said that trade activities at the border gate have resumed. Customs officers started working at 6 am and ended at 10 pm. However, the workload was huge, and the force was thin, so customs officers did not have time to have lunch, dinner, or a weekend break. Instead, civil servants took turns taking one day off a week to ensure work ran smoothly.

According to the assessment of forces in the area at Xa Mat, Tan Nam, Ka Tum and Phuoc Tan border gates, besides bustling trade activities, the smuggling, trade fraud, and illegal transport of goods at border gate areas are occurred complicatedly.

The goods are mainly consumer goods such as cigarettes, sugar, wood, milk, used electrical appliances and electronic goods, wine, beer, and rubber latex transported by border residents from Cambodia to Vietnam through trails, open paths and two side gates of the border gate. In addition, some subjects are passengers on entry and exit, drivers and assistants crossing the border to deliver and receive goods hidden in luggage and vehicles for illegal transporting across the border.

In particular, trading and transporting banned items, drugs, is still complex because drugs are easy to hide with high profit, so drug traffickers can hide in their bodies, vehicles or mix in goods, making it difficult for inspection and arrest. In addition, the subjects took advantage of the trails and open paths on both sides of the border gate, where a few anti-smuggling forces were guarding to transport of drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam.

Smuggling and illegal transport of counterfeit goods, poor quality goods, infringing intellectual property rights arise mainly from taking advantage of transit to transport counterfeit goods with fake labels and goods infringing intellectual property rights, transiting from China through Vietnam's territory to Cambodia; enterprises importing semi-finished products carry out simple processing, production and assembly but declaring Vietnamese origin on export declarations and product packaging.

Illegal transportation of firecrackers on the rise

Mr. Hong Van Hoang, Deputy Director of the Market Surveillance Department (Permanent Office of Steering Committee 389 Tay Ninh), said that in September 2022, the competent forces detected and arrested 84 violations with 81 subjects. Infringing goods are mainly firecrackers (3,048.9 kg), cigarettes (4,810 packs), refined sugar (2,900 kg

In particular, buying, selling and transporting illegal firecrackers is rising, especially in the last days of the year. Typically, on September 17, 2022, in the area near Bau Da junction, belonging to Group 13, Tan Trung hamlet, Tan Ha commune, Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province, Tan Ha Border Guard Station discovered and arrested two suspects (Cambodian) transporting prohibited goods including 35 kg of firecrackers. On the same day, also in Tan Ha commune, Tan Chau district, Tan Chau district police coordinated with Tan Ha Border Post to catch Dong Nan (born in 1997) and Dorn Dory (born in 1999). They both live in Tboung Khmun province (Cambodia) due to transporting prohibited goods of 35.3 kg of firecrackers of all kinds. As a result, Tan Chau district police have prosecuted the case, prosecuted the accused against the above two subjects, and continued investigating.

Then, on September 25, the Vam Trang Trau Border Post working group chaired and coordinated with the Special Task Force on drugs and crime prevention of the Border Defence force to patrol and detect two motorboats running from Cambodia entering Vietnam with suspicious expressions. The working group was ordered to stop for inspection. Discovering the working group, the above subjects released the boat and took advantage of the night to jump into the river to escape. The working group inspected two motorboats and discovered a large number of firecrackers weighing about 1,500kg.

Besides firecrackers, from the beginning of the year until now, the competent forces have also seized many consumer goods such as cigarettes, sugar, etc., which were illegally transported from Cambodia to the Tay Ninh border gate and then shipped to southern provinces for consumption.

Tay Ninh Customs Department said that in the first nine months of 2022, the unit detected and arrested 290 cases of smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and illegally transporting goods across the border with 283 people. As a result, the unit has decided to sanction 271 administrative violations with a monetary penalty, tax assessment, and late payment of over VND30.5 billion. In particular, there were 7 cases of illegal transportation of cigarettes across the border (including 6 cases of the abandoned article). In addition, the unit seized 560 packs of cigarettes of all kinds. In addition, Tay Ninh Customs Department has issued a decision to prosecute a criminal case of illegal transport of currency across the border ($200,000); transferred to Ben Cau district police, Tay Ninh province, to petition to prosecute a case of transporting banned goods (11kg of firecrackers); transferred to HCM City Customs Department, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh to handle five cases…

According to the Steering Committee 389 of Tay Ninh province, in the future, it is forecasted that the smuggling situation will increase, especially before, during and after the Lunar New Year 2023. Therefore, the authorities will strengthen management, especially of commodities such as alcohol, beer, tobacco, firecrackers, gold, and foreign currency. At the same time, promoting coordination with related sectors to exchange information, and coordinating in organizing forces to fight and destroy lines and groups of smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods in management areas.