Smuggled luxury cars destroyed

HA NOi — Ha Noi Police arrested Ngo Doan Phuc, 33, of Hoang Mai District, for allegedly illegally importing luxury cars from Laos and Cambodia for sale in Viet Nam. The police seized four cars, including a Hummer, Land Rover, Toyota Prado and Lexus, worth a total of VND6.3 billion (US$ 315,000). Initial investigations showed that Phuc had colluded with officials to take advantage of a policy that allows goods to be imported temporarily before being re-exported. Two face prosecution for drug trafficking HCM CITY — The Department of Investigative Police on Drug Crimes have proposed the Supreme People's Procuracy prosecute two people for drug trafficking. The married traffickers, Nguyen Thi Hai Anh and Nigerian Michael Ikenna Nduanya, lived in HCM City. Hai Anh was arrested last December when allegedly smuggling drugs from HCM City to China. Before that she is said to have smuggled drugs to Cambodia five times and received US$5,000.-VNS … [Read more...] about Man arrested for smuggling luxury cars

One of two Lexus cars given by a private company to Cà Mau provincial authorities, prompting public concerns and a Government promise to investigate. — Photo dantri.com.vn Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — The Government will direct authorities to investigate the controversial gifting of luxury cars by private companies to officials in the southern province of Cà Mau and the coastal city of Đà Nẵng. This was promised by Mai Tiến Dũng, head of the Government Office, at the monthly cabinet meeting held recently. The Prime Minister has tasked the Ministry of Finance, Government Inspectorate and Ministry of Justice, to look into the matter. The findings will then be made available to the media. According to media reports, two Lexus GX 460 currently in use by the Cà Mau People’s Committee – each costing about VNĐ3 billion (US$131,000) – were given as presents by Công Lý Ltd last March, ostensibly strictly for use in  “inspecting and directing climate change response activities.” … [Read more...] about Luxury car gifts to be probed

Thaco opens luxury car plant in Quang Nam By Le Hoang A Peugeot car is seen at Thaco luxury car plant. Thaco has put into operation the Thaco luxury car plant at the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in the central province of Quang Nam - PHOTO: THACO HCMC – Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco) on May 5 put into operation the Thaco luxury car plant and launched a Peugeot Traveller model at the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in the central province of Quang Nam. The facility, receiving total funding of VND4.5 trillion, covers an area of 7.5 hectares and has a designed capacity of 20,000 cars per year. The Thaco luxury car plant has a modern production chain and the latest technology meeting the technical requirements of French auto manufacturer PSA Group. The investor noted that the vehicles manufactured by the plant will undergo strict checks and inspections through a quality monitoring system connected directly with Peugeot in France prior to being rolled out on the market, … [Read more...] about Thaco opens luxury car plant in Quang Nam

Having money doesn’t mean you’re civilised, and some rich people are like a school in summer: no class. One woman in Hà Nội City proved this point recently, stopping in front of a shop in the city at 1:00 am on October 14. Spying two beautiful flower pots outside, she drove close to the shop, popped out of the car, grabbed the two pots with bonsai trees in them, put them in her car and drove off. As her luck would have it, the whole thing was all recorded by the shop’s security cameras. The shop owner who got the pots stolen quickly posted the clip on Facebook, with the caption "You are so strange, you have VNĐ700 million to buy the car, VNĐ15 million to get driving license, why do you steal two flower pots worth VNĐ500,000 of mine?” “I don’t miss the few hundred thousand đồng , but the bonsai tree pots I put in front of the shop are the lucky charms for my business.” Hopefully justice will be served and the thief is prosecuted, but while money doesn’t buy you class, in … [Read more...] about A woman driving a luxury car steals two flower pots worth just $22 at midnight

Three men who got a luxury car smuggled from Cambodia receive long jail terms at their trial in Tây Ninh on Sept 18. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tân. Viet Nam News HCM CITY – Three people who got a luxury car smuggled from Cambodia to HCM City and forged its papers have received stiff prison sentences. The Tây Ninh Province People’s Court on Tuesday sentenced Nguyễn Đắc Tuyên, 41, of Hà Nội to 16 years in jail. Two other men, who conspired with him and abetted him in the criminal acts, Phùng Viết Đông, 38, and Phùng Tuấn Anh, 29, got 14 years apiece. They were charged with smuggling and forging seals and documents of official agencies. According to the indictment by the province People’s Procuracy, on April 20, 2015, law enforcement authorities caught the three in a Lexus RX350 with a fake Cambodian number plate as they were travelling from HCM City to Hà Nội. The trio confessed that Tuyên had asked Đông and Anh, brothers, to smuggle a luxury car at a low price from Cambodia … [Read more...] about Court puts away car smugglers for long time

Around 58,000 packages of smuggled cigarettes were destroyed recently by authorities in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Trà Vinh. – VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Hòa Viet Nam News TRÀ VINH – The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Trà Vinh on Thursday destroyed  58,000 packages of smuggled cigarettes and 297 goods that had unknown origin or were counterfeit. The province’s Steering Committee 389,which combats smuggling, commercial fraud and counterfeit goods, burned all the packages that were found. More than 40,000 packages were Hero brand cigarettes; 14,000 were Jet cigarettes; and 1,620 packages were Scott cigarettes. Counterfeit goods and goods with unknown origin included children’s toys, watches, cosmetics, medicine and phone accessories. Last year, Steering Committee 389 found 100,000 smuggled cigarette packages and handed out fines of nearly VNĐ3 billion (US$135,000). Nguyễn Xuân Hiệp, deputy director of the province’s Department of Industry and Trade, said that … [Read more...] about Trà Vinh destroys thousands of smuggled cigarettes

Authorities check intercepted cigarette packs smuggled through the border in the southern province of An Giang. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hùng Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — In the first six months of 2017, authorities uncovered 88,560 cases of smuggling, prosecuting 1,100 cases involving 1,372 people. Authorities collected VNĐ7.9 trillion (US$347.5 million) from administrative fines, selling off confiscated smuggled goods, and tax arrears, 40 per cent more than the previous year’s first half. According to National Steering Committee 389, the majority of smuggled goods fall into categories of essential consumer goods, heavily taxed goods, or goods banned for import, such as cocaine, explosives, tobacco, cosmetics, petrol and gas, elephant tusks or rhino horns, among others. Some notable cases include an interception of 7,800 foreign cigarette packs in the southern province of Long An, or confiscation of 26kg rhino horns and 6kg of elephant tusks in Hà Nội, and apprehension of 20 … [Read more...] about More than 88,500 cases of smuggling in first half of the year

The stock includes several types of very toxic products. – Photo thanhnien.vn Viet Nam News LẠNG SƠN — Some three tonnes of plant protection products smuggled from China were disposed on Wednesday. This was done by the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with Lạng Sơn Province Market Surveillance. According to Hoàng Trung, the department head, the entire stock of smuggled plant protection products was transported by a carriage for hazardous waste to a cement kiln in Hải Dương Province and disposed of by being burnt at a high temperature. The entire process will be strictly managed by the department. The stock of disposed plant protection products includes fruit ripening substances, plant growth stimulators and other hazardous substances such as mouse poison, snail poison and herbicides. Trung told Thanh niên (Young People) newspaper that the products were prohibited from being used in Việt Nam. … [Read more...] about 3 tonnes of plant protection products destroyed

Local police unearth a tobacco smuggling case in Tây Ninh. – Photo vov.vn Viet Nam News TÂY NINH – Tobacco smuggling continues to get more complex in southern Tây Ninh Province and has increased remarkably during the year end, the Voice of Việt Nam (VOV) online newspaper reported. The provincial border guard has been seizing some 1,000 packages of cigarettes each day. Tây Ninh has a 240km border with Cambodia with even and flat terrain, creating favourable conditions for smugglers to operate, according to local authorities. The transportation, storage and trade of smuggled cigarettes have, however, become more elaborate and smugglers have started using more complicated tactics, making it harder for authorised agencies to detect the illegal activities. Smugglers use motorcycles, motorboats and high-speed cars to transport large shipments. The transportation of contraband cigarettes often takes place at night. The cigarettes are then shipped mainly via river … [Read more...] about Tobacco smuggling in Tây Ninh booms

Smuggled firecrackers were found in Quảng Ninh Province on Thursday. - VNA/VNS Photo Đức Thọ Viet Nam News KON TUM — Firecracker smuggling is on the rise as the Tết (Lunar New Year) approaches. On Thursday afternoon, transport police in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum stopped a suspicious car on Hồ Chí Minh Road, passing through Đắk Glei District, and found 51 boxes of fireworks weighing 82kg. On the same day, police in the central Quảng Bình Province stopped a car for overspeeding and found 151 boxes of firecrackers, weighing 240kg. The driver could not show the products’ paper of origin. Upon further inspection, the police found a pack of drugs in the jacket of the person accompanying the driver. The two persons admitted that they were transporting the firecrackers to central Nghệ An Province. Northern border provinces, including Lạng Sơn, Hà Giang and Quảng Ninh, are also hotspots for firecracker smuggling. … [Read more...] about Firecracker smuggling increases ahead of Tết