Drugs, firecrackers "hot" on the central border

895 kg of firecrackers from Laos were transported by Mai Thi Ly to Nghe An and destroyed by the police on August 22, 2022. Photo: ST

North Central Hotspot

According to the assessment of the functional forces, near the Lunar New Year, smuggling firecrackers and drugs on the border and inland in the North Central region became hotter and more complicated.

As a locality with a large terrain bordering Laos, Nghe An is considered a hot spot. Starting in August, many subjects in Nghe An province were contacted to buy firecrackers from abroad in large quantities and then transported them to the locality to wait for the time to sell and make a profit. Typically, nearly 1 ton of explosives from Laos transported to Nghe An was discovered and seized by Dien Chau district police on August 22, showing that the number of exhibits seized by functional forces is increasing. Previously, on August 19, Nghe An Provincial Police forces arrested three people for illegally buying and selling 350 kg of firecrackers.

Most recently, on the morning of October 23, Yen Thanh District Police, Nghe An Provincial Police chaired and coordinated with Ngoc Hoi District Police and Kon Tum Provincial Police to arrest Truong Thanh Quy, born in 1990, residing in Ngoc Hoi district, Kon Tum province on the act of trading in prohibited goods, seizing 551.8 kg of firecrackers of all kinds. The police force seized the above cannons at a warehouse in Kon Tum province rented by Quy to store "goods".

It is worth mentioning that, after being discovered and arrested, all subjects confessed to buying firecrackers from some Vietnamese people living in Laos and then trying to blend in with goods moving by other means of transportation as containers, closed trucks transported to Vietnam through Cha Lo (Quang Binh), Cau Treo (Ha Tinh), and Lao Bao (Quang Tri) border gates.

After bringing the material evidence through the border gate, the subjects will gather to hide in a location inland and wait for the opportunity to sell, even rent a warehouse equipped, installed a surveillance camera system and 2-layer iron door system to avoid detection by authorities.

Not only in Nghe An province, recently, the functional forces of the provinces: Quang Tri, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh have continuously arrested cases of illegally transporting firecrackers. In particular, there have been many lines and objects that illegally trade and transport firecrackers that the Quang Tri Border Force has eliminated. Specifically, on October 27, the Border Guard and Quang Tri Police arrested two subjects: Ho Tuan, born in 1975 and Le Thi Chinh, born in 1968, residing in Co Thanh village, Tan Thanh commune. While transporting 112 kg of firecrackers across the border, Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province.

Worryingly, illegal firecracker trading and transportation activities are organized very sophisticatedly with the participation of many objects in different localities. The particularly large-scale illegal trade and transportation of firecrackers was fought and eradicated by the functional forces of Nghe An and Quang Tri provinces. That is proof.

However, not only the sale and transportation of firecrackers in the Central region when Tet approaches is hot, the functional forces said, but drug crimes also continue to be complicated here.

According to the assessment of Quang Binh Customs Department, in 2022, smuggling, trade fraud, and illegal transportation of goods and drugs across the border increased in several cases and subjects compared to 2021. At Cha Lo international border gate, the subjects took advantage of the transport of import and export goods in transit to hide goods and banned substances on the means of transportation to evade the inspection and detection of the functional forces. In particular, the illegal transportation of narcotics has shown signs of increasing, posing many potential risks.

Statistics show that, in the first days of November 2022, the Quang Binh Customs control force detected and handled 3 cases and arrested 5 people for illegally transporting narcotics across the border. Typically, on November 10, 2022, the forces: Police, Border Guard and Customs arrested Kham La Cong Ma Ni, born in 1981, residing in Lau Ngua village, Tha Khet town, Kham Muon province, Laos (as a truck driver carrying a License plate Laos 1326, pulling a trailer License plate 1325) entered Vietnam while committing acts related to the illegal transportation of narcotics.

To expose the tricks of this line, the functional forces expanded the investigation and caught the suspect Dinh Thi Thanh, born in 1972, residing in Hoa Tien commune, Minh Hoa district, while performing the act of receiving more than 13 kg of ketamine.

Most recently, on November 14, 2022, Cha Lo border gate Customs Branch arrested Dinh Xuan Thu, residing in Hai An district, Hai Phong, travelling in a coach carrying license plate Laos 9938 on entry from Laos to Vietnam hiding 1 kg of meth in the luggage. (See also the article Quang Binh: Still "hot" in drug transportation published in Customs-P.V).

Actively cooperate to prevent

It is forecasted that the economy will grow stably in the coming time, and the flow of people, means of entry and exit, and import-export goods will increase again at the central border gates. It is likely to also increase illegal cross-border trading and transportation of narcotics, firecrackers and petrol.

Facing the situation of illegal firecracker trafficking and transportation in recent days, especially when the Lunar New Year is approaching, functional forces in the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, Quang Binh has actively developed plans to fight, intending to proactively prevent the supply of firecrackers from outside to inland, in order to prevent the situation of fireworks from becoming complicated at the end of the year.

At this time, the police, border guards and customs forces in the central provinces planned to focus on fighting and preventing early. Accordingly, the forces have directed and assigned officers and soldiers to review and seize objects with signs and symptoms of suspicious activities of illegally trading, transporting, storing and using firecrackers and drugs to fight and capture.

To prevent and strictly handle smuggling, commercial fraud and, counterfeit goods, illegally transporting banned substances such as drugs and firecrackers, said Mr. Tran Dinh Long, Deputy Director of Ha Tinh Customs Department stated, the unit has developed an implementation plan, in which, strengthening information collection, grasping the local situation; synchronously deploying professional customs control measures to closely inspect and control import and export goods, luggage, and means of entry and exit along key routes, locations, commodities and objects. Furthermore, actively coordinate with functional forces in the area to organize patrols, control, information exchange, investigation, and verification, focusing on firecrackers and drugs.

In Quang Binh province, to fight and prevent effectively, the Customs force focused on implementing customs control measures synchronously and effectively, especially focusing on information collection for risk management. At the same time, arranging professional dogs rotate at the border gate, check all luggage of drivers and passengers on entry through scanners; using a rapid drug detector to check and collect information on several drug-related suspects.