Arrested 2 customs officers for assisting smuggling

Two customs officers are accused of colluding with other subjects to clear goods of different types than declared, for the purpose of smuggling.

The Ho Chi Minh City Police Department has just issued decisions to prosecute and execute temporary detention orders against Mai Phuoc Viet (born in 1970) and Le Bao Thanh (born in 1983, both officers of the Saigon Port Customs Branch, Region 4, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department) for the act of "smuggling".

Currently, Ho Chi Minh City Police are coordinating with the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department under the General Department of Customs to expand the investigation into the smuggling ring in which Mr. Viet and Mr. Thanh are identified as playing important roles.

Two customs officers Mai Phuoc Viet (left) and Le Bao Thanh (right) when they were prosecuted and temporarily detained.

According to initial information, through professional work, the Anti-smuggling Investigation Department recently discovered a number of suspicious customs clearance containers at Saigon Port Customs Branch, Region 4.

During the investigation, this unit targeted a batch of non-commercial export goods declared under Mr. Ly Quoc Hung's name.

Specifically, according to the declaration, the goods are disassembled industrial iron shelves, 100% new, more than 22,850kg, with a total value of 21,600 USD and subject to a 0% tax rate.

When inspecting the goods, the Investigation Department discovered that the goods were actually scrap copper, with a total weight of 22,750 kg, which did not match the standard type of goods declared in the declaration. According to regulations, these goods are subject to a tax rate of 22%.

The investigation agency clarified that Mr. Ly Quoc Hung had 14 customs declarations for 14 containers, but none of them were in accordance with the goods type. All declarations were for personal non-commercial exports, and regulations required customs officers to inspect 100% of the goods before allowing clearance.

During the investigation, the Department temporarily detained 1 container of goods; however, 13 containers were successfully exported abroad.

Mr. Viet, in his duty as a goods inspection officer of Saigon Port Customs Branch, Region 4, confirmed that the goods were of the correct type in the documents and signed for customs clearance.

In addition, Mr. Viet also signed for "random" customs clearance of 7 containers opened by the owner Le Thuy Huynh. These 7 containers are actually scrap copper, subject to 22% tax, but are... magically transformed on paper into disassembled industrial iron shelves, 100% new goods and non-commercial export goods, 0% tax.

Mr. Thanh is also a commodity inspector assigned to inspect goods with Mr. Viet. In the above smuggling cases, Mr. Viet also signed the confirmation for the containers to clear customs smoothly.

In fact, when being investigated, Mr. Thanh and Mr. Viet did not give honest statements and did not reveal the real owner of the goods, causing difficulties in expanding the investigation. Therefore, the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department initiated a case and transferred it to the Ho Chi Minh City Police for clarification.

To date, the two customs officers mentioned above have been prosecuted and temporarily detained, and the police are expanding their investigation into the role of other customs officers suspected of assisting in smuggling activities.

According to VietNamnet