28 kg of smuggled dried seahorses seized by Customs. Photo: G.N

According to a report from the local customs branch on November 27, Mr. Huynh Van Hoa reported information about a boat, at the request of a Ms. Huynh Thi Hiep, a resident of An Phu district, An Giang.

At the Customs office, Mr. Hoa presented a manifesto that stated Ms. Huynh Thi Hiep as the goods declarant and owner of an empty boat that was seized on its route 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 fish bladders. All these goods were packed in bags without labels and were of unknown origin.

Hoa said he did know the owner of the vehicle and was hired to transport vegetables and fruits for export to Cambodia across Khanh Binh Border Gate by Ms. Hiep, with a salary of VND200,000 per trip. However, he admitted that the goods were not declared and he had not written an invoice.

The dried seahorse and fish bladders are rare and high-value items. According to the Khanh Binh Customs Branch, the shipment has an estimated value of about VND600 million.

The branch has issued a decision to temporarily seize the boat and seal all the infringing goods for verification.

Customs officers inspect the goods.

Dried seahorses are packed in four bags without label and origin.

Nine bags of swim bladders do not show labels and origin.

Swim bladder is high-value item.

All goods are transported to Vietnam.

13 imported shipments are investigated by Khanh Binh Customs.