Vo Van Cuong, deputy police chief of Long An’s My Quy Dong Commune, Duc Hue District, said traffickers transported the contraband by boats at speeds of 50 kilometers per hour, which is too quick for the underequipped local constabulary.
Though My Quy Dong is a “hot spot” for cigarette smuggling in the Mekong Delta province, commune police have seized only 2,000 packs of cigarettes so far this year.
Most of the packs were collected after smugglers made hasty retreats from the police, Cuong said.
The policeman said traffickers used runners to walk the Vietnam– Cambodia border and into Cambodia’s Svayrieng Province, before returning by boat to regroup at An Ninh Tay Commune’s Cay Xoai Wharf.
In the span of 20 minutes, a Thanh Nien reporter witnessed 10 boats carrying illicit tobacco through My Binh Canal.
Later that afternoon, three other boats full of contraband docked at Giong Noi Wharf.
A resident said Giong Noi Wharf was a place where illegal tobacco was gathered and then distributed to motorcycles from boats.
He said smugglers then transported tobacco to Ho Chi Minh City through Roads 8, 9, and 10.
The central steering committee responsible for combating contraband, fake goods, and trade fraud have recently launched a new tobacco smuggling telephone hotline at 1800-58-58-55 to mobilize the public to report the crime.
Reported by Hoang Phuong |
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