Smuggling on Lang Son border is still a hot problem

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Cars of smugglers moved into the custom office to intimidate civil servants

Smugglers are aggressive

Through monitoring the situation, smuggling across Lang Son border has always had abnormal developments. Smugglers often take advantage of shift time and night to illegally transport goods through border crossings

According to Lang Son Customs Department, recently, the unit has directed the border-gate customs branches and the customs enforcement team to intensify measures to control smuggling. However, in response to strict control at border crossings by competent forces, smugglers often ran back to China when being stopped. Others have divided goods into small containers to avoid being prosecuted for criminal liability. When the competent forces enhance control 24/7 hours at the key areas on border crossings, smugglers cannot bring their goods across the border, so they expressed hostility, or fiercely fought the forces when being arrested, even after their goods were seized, smugglers mobilised to threaten competent forces.

A typical example is the recent incident. After Customs agency seized 500 kg of illegally transported animal organs on August 6, on August 10, at the Entrance Gate (B4) of the cargo yard of Xuan Cuong Co., Ltd. (belonging to the customs operation area managed by the Huu Nghi Border Gate Customs Branch), 10 subjects in two cars with the trademark KONANDO BKS 30N-8291 and SUZUKI with unknown number plates, led by Vu Manh Hung (nicknamed Hung Nam) residing in Tam Thanh ward, Lang Son city, came to threaten officers who were fighting smuggling in this area. Shortly thereafter, the above subjects blatantly drove one car into the iron gate opposite Gate B4 of Xuan Cuong yard to load the smuggled goods into the car.

To ensure safety, the officers on duty at the above area moved to the public office of Huu Nghi international border gate. However, the subjects drove the other carinto the courtyard of the public office to shout at, curse and provoke them. Furthermore, the subjects also crashed into customs officers and assaulted them.

In addition, the smugglers also send messages and make phone calls to abuse and threaten customs officers.

Strictly handling smuggling

Regarding combat againstlaw enforcement officers in the anti-smuggling, Director of Lang Son Customs Department Nguyen Hoang Tuan said the unit proposed the Lang Son province’s Steering Committee 389 direct the competent agencies to strictly handle those fighting officers. Thereby, encouraging officers in charge of fighting against smuggling, trade fraud and illegal transportation of goods across borders.

The representative of Lang Son Customs Department also said that to prevent smuggling groups and places and illegal transportation of goods across borders, competent forces should strengthen cooperation, control and strict handling of smuggling leaders and subjects fighting law enforcement officers.

Lang Son Customs Department said the force engaged in anti-smuggling task is still thin, so arrangement of officers to work 24/7 is very difficult. Meanwhile, the smugglers are always aggressive and ready to rob and fight against the competent forces when discovered. Especially, in patrols, sometimes coordination has not been timely so the subjects may threaten anti-smuggling forces. In the recent incident, it has been shown that the smugglers are often organised and use any tricks to achieve their goals.

From the monitoring of Lang Son area, the smuggling is not only due to benefits, difficulties of border citizens but also inefficient management and protection of State officers and ant- smuggling and anti-trade fraud forces.

Further, most border citizens are not well educated and have difficult lives and are easy to be enticed to smuggle. Meanwhile, domestic demand for food is high, so the problem here is a more stringent policy.

Smuggling in Lang Son occurring openly VCN- In the last days of August and early September, 2016, a Customs Newspaper reporter went to ...

Introducing solutions to fight smuggling in Lang Son, an officer directly in charge of control in Lang Son province said along with investigation and handling, the most important thing is to create jobs and improve the lives of border citizens. Especially, the importance is the cooperation between competent agencies in the border areas with inland agencies, such as Police, Border Guard, Customs, Market Surveillance, etc. If not, it will lead to insufficient information and ineffective combat.