Quang Ninh: Smuggled cigarettes come back

	Perpetrators arrested transporting 2,500 packs of smuggled cigarettes
	Handling confiscated illicit cigarettes
	Mong Cai : detects new smuggled cigarettes

The functional forces check a truck with 35,000 packs of cigarettes. Photo: Manh Cuong.

The smuggling and illegal transportation of goods on Mong Cai, Quang Ninh border lines are always complicated with a variety of methods and tricks which perpetrators have used. The violated goods are quite diverse in design and types. They not only include ordinary consumer goods such as clothing, footwear, cosmetics; accessories and mobile phones, but they also include smuggled cigarettes on a large scale.

The smuggling mainly comes from the river banks of Mong Cai international border gate (where there are many trails, openings, and wharves) and Km15, National Road 18A (Hai Tien Commune, Mong Cai City).

Understanding the rules of supply and demand of the market, perpetrators have found many ways to transport cigarettes across the border, then used passenger cars and conventional trucks to camouflage smuggled goods for consumption in the domestic market. Because illicit cigarettes have a high value, they are easy to transport and bring a great profit. Accordingly, perpetrators frequently change methods to deceive functional forces.

In fact, in order to prevent the violations, the Quang Ninh Customs Control Force is always aware of its responsibility. The functional forces such as Customs Control Team No. 1; the Customs force of the Integrated Control Station of km15 Dan Tien Pier (Quang Ninh province) and the Customs force of Mong Cai Border Gate regularly patrol to understand the situation and rules of perpetrators to have a plan and fight effectively.

In the middle of March 2017, Customs officers of the Integrated Control Station of km15 Dan Tien Pier were very busy. Specifically, in just a few days (from 11th March to 13th March 2017), Customs officers detected and seized 2 cases of transportation of a total of 45,000 packets of cigarettes of all kinds. In order to deceive the functional forces, perpetrators reinforced the bulkheads in trucks to carry smuggled cigarettes and deceive functional forces.

At 6:30 pm on 11th March 2017, the task force of the Integrated Control Station of km15 Dan Tien Pier conducted physical inspections of a truck No. 14C - 196.71 and detected 7,500 blue cigarette packs "BLEND NO.555 GOLD"; 2,500 golden cigarette packs "BLEND NO.555 ORIGINAL", worth 300 million vnd, in the truck 's bulkhead.

Then, on the morning of 13th March 2017, the task force conducted physical inspections of a THACO truck No. 15C - 120.75. At the time of inspections, the driver did not appear, so the task force requested representatives of local authorities and local people to witness the physical inspections of this vehicle.

Through physical inspections of the bulkhead in the truck, Customs officers seized 35,000 packets of cigarettes, "BLEND NO. 555 GOLD”. Accordingly, regarding the 2 above cases, Customs officers of the Integrated Control Station of km15 Dan Tien Pier conducted administrative inspections and handed over to the Investigation Police of Mong Cai City to further investigate and handle.

The smuggling cases detected by Customs officers of the Integrated Control Station of km15 Dan Tien Pier showed that the smuggling of cigarettes increased again. Immediately, Steering Committee 389 of Quang Ninh province urged the members of Steering Committee 389 and the People's Committees of districts, towns and cities to strengthen the fight against smuggling, especially tobacco smuggling.

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Accordingly, Quang Ninh province has requested relevant units to direct functional forces to intensify the collection of information, grasp the situation and coordinate with each other at the border checkpoints, key routes or areas to promptly detect and strictly handle acts of smuggling or illegal transportation at the border areas.