The Mekong Delta province of Long An has made significant achievements in fighting smuggling and trade fraud at border areas.(Source: VNA)Long An (VNA) - The Mekong Deltaprovince of Long An has made significant achievements in the fight against smugglingand trade fraud at border areas.
Nguyen Van Viet, head of the province’s MarketManagement Sub-Department, said that 672 smuggling and trade fraud cases werediscovered in the first six months of the year, a drop of 424 over the sameperiod last year.
About 1 million packages of smuggledforeign-made cigarettes were found, 300,000 less than the same period lastyear.
The province collected fines of 5.5 billion VND(over 242,000) for the state budget and prosecuted many cases involving tradeand transport of prohibited goods.
The investigation police have decidedto start criminal proceedings against many violators.
The number of smuggling cases has fallen, thanksto an increase in fines and court cases.
However, the situation could worsen near the endof the year before the Christmas and Tet (Lunar New Year) seasons.
Tran Van Can, Chairman of the provincialPeople’s Committee, has directed the province’s anti-smuggling forces to stepup patrols and control smuggling and trade fraud.
Officials, civil servants and soldiers who engage in smuggling and trade fraudmust be punished, he said.
The province would raise public awareness aboutlaws on smuggling and trade fraud via the media, and try to create more jobsfor people who turn to smuggling to earn an income, he said.
The My Quy Tay Border Gate Economic Area in DucHue district near the border with Cambodia has long been seen as a transitpoint for cigarette smuggling to Ho Chi Minh City.-VNA
VNA
