A Cambodian has been nabbed for allegedly smuggling paddies from his homeland into Vietnam after already amassing a large amount of money. Vietnamese authorities have confirmed HouNat, 32, who is from the Cambodian province of Kampot, had been arrested by officials in Ha Tien Town, located in the southern Vietnamese city of Kien Giang, for attempting to carry KHR176 million (US$43,824) out of Vietnam, without providing the specific date of the arrest. The man was captured as he was about to return to his home country via the Ha Tien Border Gate, Colonel Luu Thanh Tin, deputy director of the Kien Giang Department of Police, affirmed on Sunday. HouNat stated he had earned the money by selling paddies harvested in Cambodia to people in Vietnam within last year. He had failed to inform officials of this sale, authorities said. Vietnamese police decided to arrest the Cambodian national for transporting currency and products across the border without declaring them to competent agencies, which is against Article 189 under Vietnam’s Penal Code. According to officers, the import of paddies from Cambodia into Vietnam has become quite common over the past years. The paddies are then turned into rice and sold at high prices at markets in Ha Tien. Cambodian rice is preferred by many Vietnamese who believe that the rice is clean and tasty. Vietnamese merchants were previously in charge of collecting the paddies in Cambodia before distributing them to the Vietnamese market. However, many Cambodian traders such as HouNat have recently… [Read full story]
Two Japanese nationals have just been sentenced a total of 18 years in jail for allegedly smuggling seven golden statues through Noi Bai International Airport last August. Two Japanese nationals were sentenced a total of 18 years in jail for gold smuggling in Vietnam on April 12. The sentences were given by the Hanoi City People’s Court at a trial court held on Wednesday where Masakazu Iwamura, 46, got a 10-year sentence and Takayoshi Kitada, 34, received an eight-year for smuggling.According to the indictment, Masakazu Iwamura was the former director of Japan’s RG Innovation Company which specialised in exporting…... [read more]
VietNamNet Bridge – Chinese games have been penetrating the Vietnamese market through unlicensed Vietnamese businesses dealing with Chinese distributors. The Ministry of Communication and Information’s inspectors and the Ministry of Public Security in late March discovered many rings that lent a hand to Chinese distributors to smuggle Chinese games into Vietnam. Nguyen Phan Phuc, an inspector, said that appropriate agencies, after a time of tracking down the smuggled games, blacklisted some unlicensed online game providers. And they discovered from an unexpected inspection tour to the businesses that the businesses distributed smuggled games for Lemon Game and Koramgame, two Chinese firms.…... [read more]
Thomson Reuters GFMS: Gold still being smuggled into Vietnam Nguyen Van Phu By Nguyen Van Phu - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – Plenty of gold is still being smuggled into the country, according to a senior analyst of Thomson Reuters GFMS. Cameron Alexander, who is responsible for market research in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries at Thomson Reuters GFMS, said there remains a lot of gold finding its way to Vietnam informally. Alexander did not give estimates on the percentage of smuggled gold in total gold consumption but said different sources of evidence indicated gold is still flowing…... [read more]
CAO BANG (VNS) — Police in the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang have arrested a Chinese man attempting to smuggle more than 1.5 tonnes of illegal firecrackers into Viet Nam. The 29-year-old man was arrested in Ha Lang District's Thi Hoa Commune with the firecrackers, due for consumption on Wednesday night, still in his possession. All of the firecrackers were seized. — VNS... [read more]
Four smuggled luxury cars found at the Hai Phong Port last month could have been stolen in the US before being illegally shipped to Vietnam, customs officials say. A VnExpress report Saturday quoted an unnamed official of the Vietnam Customs’ anti-smuggling department as saying the possibility of the cars being stolen is being investigated following reports that US authorities have recently busted a ring smuggling stolen luxury cars to Hong Kong and Vietnam. The cars - two BMWs, one Mercedes-Benz and one Volkswagen - were brought into Vietnam on February 26 in containers of aluminum coils and leaves and dock…... [read more]
