In the evening of December 11 officers along with officials from other agencies found tonnes of medicines without invoices or certificates of origin.

They were smuggled over the Chinese border and to the south by a trafficking ring headed by Lam Dinh Hung and Lam Dinh Hoai, brothers and residents of Hanoi’s Gia Lam District, and Tran Van Quang, a resident of the northern Province of Bac Ninh.

The three have established a number of trading companies licensed to trade farm produce.

Du Hung Traditional Medicine Store on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street in HCM City’s District 5 is one of their major outlets.

On the same day authorities also searched 10 traditional medicine pharmacies in HCM City and Nam Dinh and Nghe An provinces and found over five tonnes of contraband stuff.

During their raid of Du Hung Traditional Medicine Store, they seized over 100 tonnes of medicines trafficked by Hung and Hoai, the police said.

According to the police, every day the gang imports three to five containers of farm produce, each with a dozen tonnes of goods, with traditional medicines concealed inside.

Over 10 tonnes of traditional medicinal herbs are transported into Vietnam in this manner every day.

Prosecution

On December 4 the police co-ordinated with relevant agencies to raid a site near the Chi Ma Border Gate in Lang Son Province and found Tran Van Quang, a customs officer, and Nguyen Van Khanh, a driver, smuggling medicinal herbs into Vietnam with a customs declaration form for dried flowers and fruits.

On December 9 authorities in Bac Ninh and Hanoi raided six traditional pharmaceutical shops in Ninh Hiep Commune in the capital’s Gia Lam District and in Long Vy Hamlet in Bac Ninh Province’s Tu Son Township and found over 10 tonnes of traditional medicinal herbs.

On December 10 the police commenced criminal proceedings in the trafficking cases in Lang Son, Bac Ninh, Hanoi, and other localities. — VNS

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