In mid-December 2024, the authorities inspected 7 stores specializing in consumer goods (cigarettes, alcohol, candy, food, etc.) in Ngu Hanh Son district owned by N.H.T (1990, residing in Khue My ward) and discovered 2,909 packs of smuggled foreign cigarettes of various types.
T ordered the above cigarettes on social networks or from people who came to the store to sell them. For cigarettes originating from China (with Chinese characters on the packaging, no Vietnamese sub-label), T ordered them on the Alibaba e-commerce site; for cigarettes originating from Korea (with Korean characters on the packaging, no Vietnamese sub-label), some people (unknown origin) came directly to the store to offer them to T.
The purchased cigarettes were hidden and stored at T's store and residence on Vo Nguyen Giap Street (Ngu Hanh Son District) before being transferred to other stores for sale and consumption.
Previously, on December 9, the Department of Investigation Police on Crimes of Corruption, Economy, Smuggling, and Environment of Da Nang City Police also prosecuted and temporarily detained N.V.N (1993, residing in Soc Son District, Hanoi) for the act of "Trading in prohibited goods".
According to the investigation, N received goods from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. On the way, N received additional goods, including smuggled cigarettes, from a man named M, transported from Quang Tri to Khanh Hoa for 300,000 VND/box.
While traveling on National Highway 1A - the section avoiding Da Nang City, Mr. N was stopped by the authorities for inspection, discovered and temporarily seized many cartons of smuggled cigarettes.
