VCN – On the afternoon of March 17, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department held a press conference on the seizure of more than 11kg of drugs illegally transported by air related to some flight attendants of the national carrier Vietnam Airlines.
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| Drugs hidden in toothpaste and mouthwash tubes |
Chairing the meeting, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department Nguyen Huu Nghiep said following the direction of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the General Department of Customs, the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department on strengthening the fight against smuggling and illegal transportation of goods through Tan Son Nhat international airport, Tan Son Nhat international airport Customs Branch proactively issued Official Letter No. 201/SB-ĐGSKS dated February 6, 2023 on strengthening the control and supervision of luggage of people on entry.
The Import Baggage Procedures Team focused on checking and controlling people with travel frequency from Europe, the US, Japan and Korea.
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| Drugs taken out of the toothpaste tubes |
Head of Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch Bui Le Hung said, on the morning of March 16, 2023, the Entry Luggage Procedures Team carry out procedures for passengers and flight crew on flight VN10 of Vietnam Airlines from France to Vietnam.
When conducting screening, the Customs detected abnormal signs in the luggage of four flight attendants of Vietnam Airlines, including V.T.Q (born in 1993), T.T.T.N (born in 1993), N.T.T (born in 1986), and D.P.V (born in 1996).
After that, Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch coordinated with C04 (Ministry of Public Security) and PC04 – Ho Chi Minh City Police and Team 6 – Anti-smuggling and Investigation Department under the General Department of Customs to conduct a targeted inspection of this luggage.
Opening suitcases, the Customs authority discovered 8,400 grams of gray tablets and 3,080 grams of white powder. All of these goods are cleverly hidden in tubes of toothpaste and mouthwash.
Conducting sampling, the samples have positive reactions to drugs such as Methamphetamine, Ketamine.
Deputy Director of the Department Nguyen Huu Nghiep said that in addition to trade facilitation, the protection of national sovereignty and security is an important task, so the Customs authority has taken many measures to control and prevent smuggling and trade fraud.
The Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department also warned people, including those working in the management agencies, to be very vigilant when transporting goods containing banned substances. If these drugs are not detected in time, they will bring unpredictable consequences.
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After the case was discovered by Customs, the flight attendants cooperated with the authorities in the investigation.
The Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch is operating 24/7, managing more than 150 entry and exit flights with flows of nearly 40,000 passengers per day. In 2022, Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch detected 198 cases, of which 46 drug cases were handled. From the beginning of 2023 to March 14, 2023, the branch busted 44 cases in the Customs field, including eight drug cases with nearly 15 kg of drugs of all kinds. |
By Hoa-Diu/ Huyen Trang