QUANG NINH: The Quang Ninh Province police have arrested three people for allegedly smuggling two tons of firecrackers on a boat from China into Vietnam.
A 67-year-old woman and two men, 49 and 52, were caught sailing an unregistered boat into Vietnam Monday night.
They said a stranger in China paid them to carry the firecrackers to Vietnam.
The police are investigating further.
Firecrackers were banned in Vietnam 20 years ago, but people in many areas still set them off during traditional festivals and celebrations, which fuels smuggling from China and, recently, Laos.
Early in June a bus carrying 200 kg of fireworks exploded in Laos on its way to Vietnam, and eight Vietnamese passengers were killed.
