There are no "forbidden zones" in the fight against crime and smuggling.

Also attending were comrades: General To Lam - Member of the Political Bureau, Minister of Public Security; and Dinh Tien Dung - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Minister of Finance.

On the Nghe An side of the bridge were Comrade Le Xuan Dai - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, along with representatives from relevant departments and agencies.

According to the report of the Steering Committee 138/CP on Crime Prevention and Control, in the first six months of the year, 25,806 criminal offenses occurred nationwide. Although this represents a decrease of 0.17% compared to the same period last year, many cases of a particularly serious nature still occurred, especially crimes related to property appropriation, economic crimes and violations of the law, corruption, and high-tech crimes. The rate of investigation and discovery of criminal cases reached 79.5%.

Delegates listen to the directives of Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh. Photo: My Ha

Regarding the fight against smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods: Although significant efforts were made in the first few months of the year, they are still not commensurate with the actual situation. In the first six months, functional units detected, seized, and processed 88,229 violations (a decrease of nearly 2% compared to the same period last year), collecting over 7,427 billion VND for the state budget, and initiating legal proceedings in 887 cases involving 889 individuals. Of these, over 5,000 cases involved counterfeit goods and intellectual property violations.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh highly appreciated the results achieved by the Steering Committee 138 and the Steering Committee 389, along with ministries, sectors, and localities, in the first six months of 2018.

Handling counterfeit and pirated goods at the Market Management Sub-department. Photo: My Ha

However, crime prevention and anti-smuggling efforts still have shortcomings and limitations, such as: In some cases, information gathering is slow, leading to a loss of security and order, and serious crimes still occur; the detection and handling of corruption in some localities are still limited... resulting in budget losses and resource depletion...

In the coming months, the task ahead is very challenging. Therefore, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh requested that the units incorporate the delegates' opinions to finalize the report.

At the same time, it is necessary to effectively organize and implement the provisions of the law, the directives of the Government and the steering committee; to identify these areas of work as important and regular tasks, and to resolutely prevent any areas from being off-limits.

Comrade Le Xuan Dai presents Certificates of Commendation to outstanding collectives and individuals. Photo: My Ha.

When incidents occur, local Party committees and authorities must promptly resolve them according to the "four on-the-spot" principle. If protection rackets are found, the head of the organization must be held accountable.

Strengthen decentralization coupled with inspection and evaluation, selecting leaders with a high sense of responsibility and determination in combating crime and smuggling. Strengthen inspections and audits within crime prevention agencies, resolutely removing officials who are biased or irresponsible... Prevent public dissatisfaction and loss of trust in government agencies.

Proactively anticipate the situation and avoid being caught off guard. Conduct thorough basic investigations and establish strategies to combat transnational crime and drug trafficking, ensuring that the ringleaders and organizers of the networks are targeted.

On this occasion, Comrade Le Xuan Dai presented Certificates of Commendation from the National Steering Committee 389 and the Provincial People's Committee to 9 collectives and 10 individuals who excelled in the fight against smuggling and trade fraud in 2017.