Four customs officers at Chon Thanh Customs Branch are arrested.
On the same day, the HCMC Police also prosecuted and held in custody offenders Bach Tan Cuong, Nguyen Vinh Hoa, Huynh Thi Huyen Tram, Vo Thanh Tuan for the act of smuggling together with Truong Thi Le Hang, Nguyen Xuan Tung, Nguyen Thi Kim Anh, Nguyen Tien Dung for the act of receiving bribes.
Three among the offenders in the case
Previously, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Public Security detected the ring illegally importing Polyester fiber from China to Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Phuoc Province by Chinese in collaboration with Vietnamese.
During the investigation process, the police force identified that several officers and staff of Chon Thanh Customs Division in Binh Phuoc Province received bribes to skip customs clearance procedures.
The police identified that the Chinese offenders directed Cuong to establish Sunview Production and Trading Company, based in Dong Xoai City, Binh Phuoc Province. Tuan was assigned to open Long Tan Vina Production and Trading Company, based in Dong Phu District, Binh Phuoc Province to do import procedures. In reality, the two companies were “ghost” ones.
The seized exhibits
The offenders adjusted cargo information from Polyester fiber with an anti-dumping duty of 17.45 percent to mono-pylamen polyurethane fiber with an anti-dumping duty of zero percent.
After that, they performed customs declaration to import the goods at the Chon Thanh Customs Division to illegally import a huge number of Polyester fiber.
Some customs officers of Chon Thanh Customs Branch confirmed to receive bribes of VND3.5 million (US$145) per container.
During the expansion of the investigation, the functional forces raided companies and relevant warehouses in District 8, District 11, Binh Tan District and Binh Chanh District in HCMC where documents, e-signature and data related to Polyester fiber import activities of Sunview Production and Trading Company and Long Tan Vina Production and Trading Company were detected and seized.
Additionally, the police seized more than 700 tons of fiber without any invoice.
From March, 2023 to the detection period, the offenders illegally imported 258 containers of Polyester fiber with a total value of nearly VND150 billion (US$6.2 million) to gain illegal profits of more than VND500 million (US$21,000).
The case is under the investigation expansion process.
By Chi Thach- Translated by Huyen Huong