Chi Ma Customs prevents contraband goods at the border

Thus, Chi Ma border gate Customs Branch (Lang Son Customs Department) has actively coordinated with competent authorities in the area to accelerate anti-smuggling work at the border.

Accordingly, there is a situation that smugglers hire some border residents to transport smuggled goods across the border to gathering places and then find a way to bring them inland for consumption.

In early October 2022, the anti-smuggling team of the Chi Ma Border Gate Customs Branch coordinated with the patrol team of the Chi Ma Border Guard to discover 30 cardboard boxes containing a number of consumer goods of unknown origin at an inspection yard.

Through investigation and verification, the authorities determined that this shipment was contraband goods loaded on re-imported containers, then brought to a gathering place, waiting for moving to the domestic market. This is one of 23 cases of cross-border transportation of goods handled by Chi Ma Customs and Chi Ma Border Guard from the end of September 2022.

A Customs officer of Chi Ma Border Gate Customs Branch at work. Photo: H.Nu

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Hoang Quoc Cuong, Deputy Director of the Chi Ma Border Gate Customs Branch, said from the end of September, trading activities through Chi Ma border gate have been bustling again and the volume of import and export goods and goods in transit has been increasing. Accordingly, the transportation of smuggled goods through the border gate area has risen.

In particular, smugglers and fraudsters take advantage of the electronic customs declaration process to declare the false quantity and type of imported goods to bring a number of high-value goods to Vietnam. Facing that situation, in addition to strictly controlling activities at inspection yards, Chi Ma Customs has strengthened the collection of information on enterprises importing valuable, high-tax goods and conditional goods to promptly detect fraudulent acts.

To strictly control and prevent smuggling and trade fraud of goods across the border, in the last months of the year, Chi Ma Customs has reviewed information on enterprises to detect and prevent illegal shipments due to fraudulent declarations by enterprises to import through border gates into Vietnam.

In addition, the unit has applied professional measures to monitor vehicles carrying imported goods through the border gate, thereby promptly detecting smuggled shipments mixed in imported containers.

In addition, the unit has actively implemented a coordination plan with the Border Guard to quickly establish patrol groups and control areas at border crossings.

Chi Ma Border Guard has organized 17 shacks and checkpoints at border crossings; coordinated with Chi Ma Customs, self-defense forces of border communes to organize checkpoints at key areas and goods gathering areas at border gates and organize outside inspection at areas where smugglers often transport contraband goods on the borderline and on some routes to border communes such as Yen Khoai and Tu Mich.

In addition, the Chi Ma Border Guard Station has stepped up coordination with the authorities of border communes to organize communication and mobilize border people not to help or transport smuggled goods; build an information system from the grassroots to promptly capture abnormalities in smuggling activities.

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In the domestic market, the market surveillance force and the police of Loc Binh district have also strengthened inspection on the transportation of goods, offered professional measures to detect and deter threats and strictly handle those who transport smuggled goods and goods of unknown origin through the area; and coordinated with local authorities to dismantle gathering places of contraband goods in the area.