Arrested subject trafficking and storing more than 5,500 packs of smuggled cigarettes and cigars
City police discovered and arrested a subject who was trading, storing, and illegally transporting more than 5,500 packs of foreign-made cigarettes and small cigars.
According to the police investigation agency's documents, at around 10:40 a.m. on January 2, at the K88 warehouse area, on Bach Dang Street, Thanh Luong Ward, Hai Ba Trung District, the Anti-Smuggling and Prohibited Goods Trafficking Police force of PC 46 discovered a man driving a motorbike with license plate 29S1-027.60 transporting goods contained in a cardboard box with suspicious signs.
The task force requested to inspect the cargo and discovered inside were 86 packs (860 packs) of "Blend No. 555 Gold" brand blue cigarettes, suspected to be manufactured abroad.
Nguyen Duc Hung, the above male subject, was unable to present invoices or documents proving the legal origin of these cigarettes.
At the police station, Nguyen Duc Hung confessed that he bought 86 packs of foreign-made cigarettes from passersby and then gathered them at his warehouse in the K88 warehouse area on Bach Dang Street to resell for profit.
On the morning of January 2, Hung came to pick up the above cigarettes to transport and deliver to customers in the Thong Nhat Park area and was discovered and checked by the police. In addition to these cigarettes, Hung also left foreign-made cigarettes in the K88 warehouse area, Bach Dang and the store on Nguyen Sieu Street, Hoan Kiem District and his private home in Ngoc Lam, Long Bien, Hanoi.
Conducting searches at Hung's warehouse, store and private home at the above addresses, the police discovered and seized a total of 535 cartons (5,350 packs) of cigarettes and 20 cartons (200 packs in metal boxes) of smuggled small cigars.
These cigarettes include foreign brands such as red "Marlboro", white "Blend No. 555 Gold Pearl", yellow "Blend No. 555 Original"... The value of these cigarettes and cigars is estimated at about 200 million VND.
According to Nguyen Duc Hung’s testimony, the cigarettes were manufactured abroad and all had no invoices or documents proving their legal origin. Although he was aware that the act of trading, storing, and transporting smuggled foreign-made cigarettes was a violation of the law, he still did it because of greed.
It is known that from January 1, 2018, the act of storing, trading, and transporting smuggled cigarettes is prohibited and will be criminally prosecuted according to the 2015 Penal Code./.