Nghe An: Strengthening prevention and control of firecrackers during Lunar New Year

(Baonghean) - To minimize violations of firecrackers during the Lunar New Year 2017, the functional agencies, especially the Provincial Police, have implemented many solutions. To help readers better understand the above issue, Nghe An Newspaper interviewed Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Duc Hai - Deputy Director of the Provincial Police.

PV:In your opinion, will violations of fireworks increase by the end of this year and to what extent?

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Duc Hai:First of all, we affirm that the situation of firecracker violations in Nghe An province at the end of this year is quite complicated. As of December 16, 2016, the Provincial Police have discovered and arrested 71 cases, 82 subjects for illegal trading, storing, and transporting of firecrackers, confiscated 673.7 kg of firecrackers; mobilized people to collect 16.2 kg of various types of firecrackers.

Illegal fireworks seized in Dien Chau on November 21, 2016.

Among them, there were many cases of confiscating large quantities of fireworks, typically: On December 9, 2016, Nam Dan District Police discovered and arrested 2 subjects for illegal trading and storing of fireworks, confiscating 91.6 kg of fireworks; on December 2, 2016, Vinh City Police broke up Project 116N, arrested 1 subject for illegal trading of fireworks, confiscating 50.4 kg of fireworks.

PV:Through the fight against violators related to firecrackers in recent years, can you tell us which routes are mainly used to smuggle firecrackers into Nghe An and how is the illegal production of firecrackers in the area?

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Duc Hai:Through the fight, fireworks were bought, sold, and smuggled into Nghe An mainly through two routes: First, subjects bought, sold, and transported fireworks smuggled from abroad (mainly from China) by sea to coastal areas in Cua Lo Town, Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, and Hoang Mai Town, from there continuing to divide the amount of fireworks for consumption in the province. Second, subjects bought, sold, and smuggled fireworks across the border, mainly through the border gates of Nam Can, Ky Son (Nghe An), Lao Bao (Quang Tri) and Cau Treo (Ha Tinh); especially since the province of Bo Ly Kham Xay (Laos) had a Chinese market, the situation of buying, selling, and smuggling fireworks from Cau Treo border gate along National Highway 8 to Nghe An became more complicated. In addition, a number of subjects were discovered buying, selling, and transporting fireworks from China through the northern provinces bordering China, transporting them along National Highway 1A and the Ho Chi Minh road to Nghe An.

Through practical struggle, it is shown that illegal production of fireworks in the area is mainly small-scale production among the people, including young people, teenagers, pupils and students who buy firecrackers themselves to make fireworks for the purpose of burning during Tet.

Traffic Police (Ministry of Public Security) coordinated with Dien Chau Traffic Police Station to arrest a case of illegal transportation of nearly 100 kg of firecrackers on December 18, 2016.

PV:Faced with such complex developments, what difficulties do the authorities face in identifying and fighting these subjects, sir?

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Duc Hai:In our opinion, there are three major difficulties in preventing and combating violations of fireworks.

Firstly: The awareness of a large number of people in complying with the provisions of the law on the management, use and recovery of fireworks is still limited, so many people deliberately buy, store and use illegal fireworks, not only turning themselves into violators but also creating conditions for criminals to illegally trade in fireworks to take advantage of their activities. Some subjects are aware that the production, purchase, sale, transportation and storage of fireworks is a violation of the law but still deliberately do it to gain illegal profits.

Second: The methods and tricks of illegal fireworks traders are increasingly sophisticated and cunning, causing many difficulties for authorities in detecting, combating, arresting, and handling them.

Third: The main forces in crime prevention and control in general, and firecracker violations in particular, such as: Police, Border Guard, Customs, Market Management... are still weak.

PV:To minimize violations of firecrackers during the Lunar New Year, what measures has the province implemented to prevent and combat violations of firecrackers during the 2017 Lunar New Year?

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Duc Hai:Grasping the situation and trends of criminal activities and violations related to fireworks in the last months of the year, the Provincial Police have focused on advising and directing the synchronous and drastic implementation of many solutions to prevent and combat violations related to fireworks, specifically:

Firstly: Proactively advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue Plan No. 541/KH-UBND dated September 6, 2016 to direct sectors and localities to promptly deploy solutions to prevent and combat fireworks during the Lunar New Year of Dinh Dau in 2017;

Second: The Provincial Police Director issued Plan No. 307/KH-CAT-PV11 dated September 23, 2016, specifying the plan of the Provincial People's Committee, directing the police of all units and localities to simultaneously deploy drastic measures to prevent and combat fireworks in the whole province.

In particular, on December 10, 2016, the Provincial Police Director issued Plan No. 813/KH-CAT-PV11 directing the launch of a peak period of attack, suppression of crime, and protection of security and order during the 2017 Lunar New Year; including the direction to strengthen solutions to prevent and combat violations related to fireworks.

Propaganda on the prohibition of trading, storing and illegal use of fireworks at Nghia Dan town secondary school.

Third: Directing the police of units and localities to step up propaganda work on firecracker prevention and control in conjunction with promoting the movement of all people to protect national security, mobilizing people to detect, denounce, and voluntarily hand over firecrackers in various appropriate forms, including maintaining mobile propaganda teams on firecracker prevention and control on key routes and areas. In particular, this year the Provincial Police will focus more on coastal areas, where the illegal use of firecrackers occurred on New Year's Eve 2016.

Fourth: Focus on directing the synchronous and drastic implementation of professional measures, formulating combat plans; combined with strengthening traffic control and patrol work, armed patrols, combined with launching a general administrative inspection of commercial centers, markets, wholesale and retail grocery stores, goods gathering points at bus stations, train stations, seaports, estuaries and households and individuals with conditions or signs of suspicion of illegal production, trading and storage of fireworks in the area.

Fifth: Actively coordinate with functional forces, especially the Border Guard, Coast Guard, Customs, Market Management... to strengthen patrols and controls on key routes, fields and areas such as: border routes, small-scale roads, border gates, train stations, bus stations, wharves, wholesale markets, commercial centers... to promptly detect and strictly handle violations of fireworks, effectively prevent the illegal smuggling of fireworks from abroad into Nghe An (especially on the sea route and the Vietnam - Laos land border).

Learning from last year's experience, this year we will have more synchronous and drastic solutions during Tet holidays, especially on New Year's Eve. Directing the police of districts, cities and towns to advise the People's Committees at the same level to establish inspection teams, instructing on firecracker prevention and control work, led by the leaders of the district People's Committees; directing each ward, commune and town to establish working groups to propagate and inspect firecracker prevention and control to directly inspect each village, hamlet and residential area. Particularly, the Provincial Police will direct the establishment of working groups to directly inspect firecracker prevention and control work at units and localities; at the same time, based on the crime situation and firecracker violations in the area, a plan will be developed to maximize the Provincial Police force to the grassroots to coordinate firecracker prevention and control and protect security during Tet. It is also worth mentioning that this year, the Provincial Police will resolutely arrest and strictly handle cases of illegal firecracker explosions, even on New Year's Eve.

PV:Thanks comrade!

PV

(Perform)