The shipment of dried seahorse and swim bladders seized by Khanh Binh Customs. Photo: V.T

According to the local customs branch, on November 27, Mr. Huynh Van Hoa reported to the branch about a boat at the request of Ms. Huynh Thi Hiep, residing in Khanh An commune, An Phu district, An Giang.

At the Customs office, Mr. Hoa presented the manifest that stated Ms. Huynh Thi Hiep as the goods declarant, and an empty boat which was from Cambodia.

After completing the procedures, Mr. Hoa received the vehicle from a Vietnamese-Cambodian man and presented it to Customs for inspection.

The branch and the working team at Khanh Binh Border Gate detected 13 bags of goods, including 28kg of dried seahorses and 114kg of dried swim bladders. All these goods are packed in bags without label and of unknown origin.

Cơ quan Hải quan phối hợp với Biên Phòng khám xét chiếc ghe chở cá ngựa, bóng cá khô. Ảnh: V.T

Hoa said he did know the owner of the vehicle and was hired by Ms. Hiep to transport vegetables and fruits for export to Cambodia across Khanh Binh Border Gate with a salary of VND200,000 per trip.

However, Mr. Huynh admitted that the goods were not declared and had no invoices.

Two day after the shipment was temporarily seized, Mr. Nguyen Van Tanh, (residing in An Khanh commune, An Phu district, An Giang province) went to Khanh Binh Border Gate Customs Branch and said that he was the owner of 114kg of dried swim bladders worth over VND182 million.

The local branch made the report on administrative violations against Mr. Nguyen Van Tanh. However, the case is related to foreign factors, so the Customs authority is not competent enough to investigate and verify the Mr.Tanh’s role in cross-border smuggling. Therefore, the branch proposed An Giang Police to investigate.

After identifying signs of cross-border illegal transportation of goods, the branch issued a decision to prosecute a criminal case and sent it to the People's Procuracy of An Phu district, An Giang province, to transfer to the police agency.