Contraband cigarettes seized by Dong Thap Customs.

Seizing contraband sugar

On the morning of December 22, the Customs Enforcement Team, Dong Thap Customs Department worked with Dong Thap Police to patrol the border area and discovered a truck without a license plate traveling towards the inner city at An Thanh ward, Hong Ngu city, Dong Thao. The working group asked the truck driver to stop for inspection and found more than 1 ton of refined granulated sugar.

The leader of the Customs Enforcement Team Nguyen Huu Tam said this sugar is likely to be smuggled sugar. Because, the packaging of the bags of sugar are labeled with Thai words, but the driver could not present the invoice and voucher, proving the origin of the goods.

Moreover, the driver drove the truck without a license plate and took advantage of the night to transport the goods to the inland market for consumption. Currently, the Customs Enforcement Team has made a record of administrative violations and seized the goods for further investigation.

According to Mr. Nguyen Huu Tam, smuggled sugar products in the first eleven months of 2021 were rare, but they are rising again at the end of this year. Suspects often take advantage of the night to gather goods near the border area and then transport them inland.

Previously, at Ca Sach market, Binh Hoa Thuong hamlet, Thuong Thoi Hau A commune, Hong Ngu district, the Customs Enforcement Team of Thuong Phuoc Border Gate Customs Branch presided over and coordinated with Thuong Thoi Hau A Commune Police to patrol and seize 943kg of crystalline sugar with unknown brand and origin. The sugar is likely to have been changed with the cover to deceive authorities during transportation.

In addition to the large quantity of cases, by the end of November 2021, Dong Thap Customs Department in coordination with competent forces seized many small cases of sugar at Dong Thap border.

Contraband cigarettes and electronic goods on the rise

Not only smuggled sugar, the anti-smuggling force under Dong Thap Customs Department has repeatedly dealt with many cases of smuggled cigarettes and electronic goods, consumer goods on the border in large quantities.

Recently, on December 20, the Customs Enforcement Team coordinated with competent authorities to inspect and detect a large gathering place of used electronic and refrigeration products.

"The volume of goods in this seizure is remarkable, at about 400-500 products, on the list of goods banned from import, gathered by smugglers to wait for consumption, we are expanding the investigation and clarifying the case," Director of Dong Thap Customs Department Nguyen Thanh Toan said.

So Thuong customs team under Thuong Phuoc border gate Customs Branch chaired and coordinated with Thuong Thoi Hau A Commune Police to patrol and handle many smuggling cases on the border. Accordingly, the team seized 1,400 packages of foreign cigarettes of all kinds, with no recipients at Ca Sach market, Binh Hoa Thuong village, Thuong Thoi Hau A commune, Hong Ngu district.

Earlier, on the evening of December 5, 2021, the enforcement team at the area of ​​Coi Tieu bridge in Binh Hoa Trung hamlet, Thuong Thoi Hau A commune, Hong Ngu district seized 1,330 packages of foreign cigarettes of all kinds and 300kg of crystallized sugar made in Thailand. Early the next morning, the team worked with other forces to seize 1,400 packages of foreign cigarettes of all kinds at Nam Hang intersection in Binh Hoa Thuong hamlet, Thuong Thoi Hau A commune, Hong Ngu district.

All of the above goods were left at the scene by smugglers who absconded to residential areas when seeing the enforcement team.

According to the Dong Thap Customs Department, in the remaining month of 2021, the price of some items, such as foreign cigarettes and crystallized sugar in Vietnam, is higher than those in Cambodia, so this attracts people to the illegal trading and transportation of these goods to the domestic market for consumption. These people often left the goods and escaped when seeing competent forces. Therefore, most smuggled goods seized by Dong Thap Customs Department are derelict goods. Out of more than 120 cases handled by Dong Thap Customs Department from the beginning of 2021, there are over 80 cases of derelict goods.

The smuggling and illegal transportation of goods tends to increase ahead of the Lunar New Year, so the leader of Dong Thap Customs Department has required units to increase officers and work with other forces to strengthen control of the border and prevent smuggling and violations in a timely manner.