Authorities busted a phone smuggling operation via air transport.
The phones were hidden among personal belongings, packed into multiple suitcases to evade detection by authorities.
On July 22, Lieutenant Colonel Thanh Kien Trung, Head of the Anti-Smuggling and Illicit Goods Trafficking Team, Criminal Investigation Department for Economic and Administrative Crimes (PC46) of the Hanoi Police, announced that the unit had just carried out an urgent arrest and search warrant and temporarily detained Nguyen Thi Kim (born in 1992) residing in Dong Hai 2 Ward, Hai An District, Hai Phong City, for the act of smuggling mobile phones via air transport.
Kim and the evidence were seized.
During initial questioning at the investigative agency, Kim confessed that his modus operandi was to buy used mobile phones, hide them among personal belongings, and pack them into multiple suitcases to evade detection by authorities. In June 2013, Kim successfully smuggled 20 mobile phones from South Korea to Vietnam.
At approximately 9:30 PM on July 16th, Kim was stopped and inspected by the Anti-Smuggling and Illicit Goods Trafficking Team, who discovered 78 used mobile phones of various types in his luggage without legal documentation. He was being transported in a taxi from Noi Bai International Airport to My Dinh.
Kim admitted to buying the phones in Busan, South Korea, for approximately $10,000 with the intention of reselling them in Vietnam for profit.
Lieutenant Colonel Thanh Kien Trung, Head of the Anti-Smuggling and Illicit Goods Trafficking Team PC46, stated that according to the valuation by Hanoi Valuation and Financial Services Joint Stock Company, the shipment of mobile phones is worth 197.5 million VND. The case is currently under expanded investigation.
According to vov.vn - LT
