A coordinated effort is needed.

(Baonghean) - Compared to previous years, smuggling and trade fraud at sea in Nghe An have significantly decreased thanks to the active efforts of functional agencies and the people. However, smuggling and trade fraud at sea are becoming increasingly complex with many sophisticated methods…

Before the 2000s, smuggling activities at sea in Nghe An were extremely complex. At one time, Cua Lo town and coastal districts like Nghi Loc, Dien Chau, and Quynh Luu were flooded with smuggled goods; people from all over the country flocked to Nghe An not primarily for tourism but to buy smuggled goods such as electrical and electronic products. The reason for the rampant smuggling and counterfeit goods was that these products were often much cheaper than genuine goods, especially essential consumer goods. Since 2000, thanks to the active involvement and strong efforts of functional agencies, the smuggling situation has significantly decreased. The campaign "Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods" has been widely supported by the people. The objective reason is that the goods market has become saturated, and domestically produced goods are of high quality and cheaper, thus eliminating smuggled and substandard goods.

That being said, it doesn't mean that smuggling at sea has ended. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Khoa, Deputy Team Leader of the Anti-Smuggling Team at the Nghe An Customs Branch, stated: In 2013, the team cracked six cases, including three involving firecrackers totaling 114 kg, one involving electronic goods, and two involving temporarily imported and re-exported automobiles. The total amount of administrative fines was 35 million VND, and the total revenue from the sale of confiscated goods was 608 million VND. At the beginning of 2014, the team coordinated with the Nghe An Border Guard to apprehend one case, seizing 8 kg of firecrackers. The methods of smuggling at sea are now very sophisticated, making detection and arrest very difficult; smuggled goods are no longer simply consumer goods but are more "high-end" items such as minerals and petroleum products. Despite numerous efforts by customs forces in propaganda, patrolling, control, covert operations, and building intelligence networks, they have yet to apprehend these individuals… Fuel smuggling is occurring on a small scale – some greedy individuals buy surplus fuel from ships entering ports to resell. Meanwhile, preventing and combating mineral smuggling faces many difficulties as Nghe An authorities cannot determine whether the exported minerals will arrive at domestic ports or be smuggled to China. Currently, the Maritime Smuggling Prevention Team organizes one public patrol and control operation per month from Quynh Luu to Ben Thuy port to deter violators. In addition, they conduct many other covert patrols and controls. To effectively combat maritime smuggling, the team actively establishes checkpoints and gathers intelligence in the area, actively coordinating with border guards, police, market management forces, and local authorities…

Border guards from the Cua Lo - Ben Thuy Port Border Gate Station inspect ships carrying goods.

Working closely with the Customs force in the fight against maritime smuggling in Nghe An province is the border guard force, specifically the Cua Lo - Ben Thuy Port Border Guard Station. Discussing the situation of smuggling and trade fraud at sea, Lieutenant Colonel Tran Quang Trung, Deputy Head of Operations at the Cua Lo - Ben Thuy Port Border Guard Station, said: Currently, smuggling, counterfeit goods, and trade fraud at sea have decreased significantly compared to before, but they still exist in small-scale and seasonal forms, involving items such as explosives, firecrackers, and used electronic goods. It is predicted that smuggling and trade fraud will continue to be complex with more sophisticated methods and tactics, especially exploiting the import and export of goods such as petroleum and minerals to commit trade fraud, evade taxes, and increase the trading, transportation, storage, and use of explosives.

From the beginning of 2014 until now, the Cua Lo - Ben Thuy Border Guard Station has implemented four plans to combat smuggling and trade fraud; most recently, a high-intensity campaign against smuggling and trade fraud was launched from May 15th to June 30th, 2014, employing a variety of coordinated operational measures. However, detecting and apprehending offenders remains very difficult. Lieutenant Colonel Tran Quang Trung explained: It is very difficult to combat trade fraud when human and material resources are limited. For example, in the import and export of minerals, there are four companies in Cua Lo town that have been authorized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to export stockpiled ore. However, the Border Guard and Customs forces cannot determine whether it is stockpiled or newly mined ore, whether the ore originates from licensed mines or illegally mined ore, and they lack the machinery and personnel to determine the ore's content. For shipments like these, the Border Guard Post reports to higher authorities for monitoring and inspection… Regarding petroleum products, the border guard force has not detected any incidents since the beginning of the year. As for coal, the Post has established control stations, especially in the Ben Thuy Port area, to monitor ships transporting coal from the northern provinces, in accordance with the directives of the Vietnam Border Guard. Through monitoring, it has been observed that most ships importing coal to Nghe An deliver their cargo to the correct destination.

Despite knowing about commercial fraud and smuggling at sea, the inability to detect and apprehend offenders remains a major concern and a "debt of responsibility" for the Customs and Border Guard forces in particular, and other functional forces in our province in general. The underlying reasons are that the measures, equipment, and resources of the functional forces have not kept pace with the actions and tactics of smuggling and commercial fraud criminals; legal regulations have not been updated in a timely manner, thus lacking a basis for prosecution; and the penalties applied to violations are not commensurate and lack sufficient deterrent power. To prevent this problem, a comprehensive approach is needed, the most important of which is communication and raising public awareness so that people boycott counterfeit and substandard goods, and actively monitor wrongdoing to report it to the authorities for timely action.

Thanh Son