According to representatives of the General Department of Customs, activities of smuggling and illegal transportation of goods across the border were complicated in the first quarter of 2018, focusing on consumer goods and foodstuff such as Thai sugar, soft drinks, confectionery, alcohol drinks, cigarettes… In the first quarter, there were also smuggling and shipments of forbidden goods. Especially, illegal transportation of firecrackers across the border into Vietnam increased.
In the first quarter of 2018, the whole customs sector checked, detected and arrested 3232 violation cases with the value of infringing goods estimated at over VND85 billion; collected State budget revenue of more than VND44.5 billion (up 32.9% over the same period in 2017). Compared with the same period in 2017, the number of violation cases increased 2.7% and the value of infringing goods increased nearly 28.9%. Customs authority prosecuted 10 criminal cases, transferred 4 cases to other agencies for prosecution. Notably, prominent offenses in the first quarter involved drug trafficking and illegal wildlife trade such as langurs and pangolins.
According to the General Department of Customs, in the coming time, the sector will deploy surveillance camera system to detect timely smuggling activities. In addition, the sector will inspect professional tasks at some local customs departments.
Reported by P.V – Translated by Ngoc Huynh
