Nearly 100 military guns confiscated on flight to Saigon

After more than a year of investigation, Ho Chi Minh City authorities determined that the batch of CZ P-07 guns, manufactured in the Czech Republic, smuggled into Vietnam affected national security, so they decided to confiscate them.

On November 2, the Customs Branch at Tan Son Nhat International Airport announced that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee had decided to confiscate nearly 100 military guns brought into Vietnam by air last July.

This move was made after more than a year of investigation and review, and the city assessed the nature of the incident as extremely serious, affecting national security and social order and safety.

According to the leader of the Tan Son Nhat Customs Branch, the authorities determined that "there is no way that this batch of weapons imported by the Singaporean police from Türkiye went to Vietnam by mistake" as previously suspected. However, the investigation agency has not been able to determine the owner of the weapons as well as the motive and purpose of bringing them into Vietnam.

The number of military guns seized. Photo: HQ

Previously, on July 31, the Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch coordinated with the General Economic Security Department (A85) and professional departments of the Ministry of Public Security to search a shipment on a flight from Türkiye to Tan Son Nhat.

Authorities discovered 94 military pistols and 472 unused ammunition clips. The weapons were brought from the Czech Republic and were the largest shipment of military weapons smuggled into Vietnam to date.

The modern pistols of the CZ P-07 series, produced in the Czech Republic, are military and law enforcement versions. The gun is 185 mm long, has a barrel length of 85 mm, weighs 770 g empty, has an effective range of 50 m and uses a 16-round magazine. This type of pistol is used in police missions and undercover operations.

Compared to the CZ 75, the P-07 has a redesigned trigger mechanism, reducing the number of parts and making it easier to shoot. The gun body is made of polymer to reduce weight. The gun operates on the principle of short recoil, with a safety lock to minimize the possibility of accidental firing.

According to VNE