HANOI: The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Trà Vinh destroyed 58,000 packages of smuggled cigarettes and 297 goods that had unknown origin or were counterfeit.
According to details, the province’s Steering Committee 389, which combats smuggling, commercial fraud and counterfeit goods, burned all the packages that were found.
More than 40,000 packages were Hero brand cigarettes; 14,000 were Jet cigarettes; and 1,620 packages were Scott cigarettes.
Counterfeit and goods with unknown origin included children’s toys, watches, cosmetics, medicine and phone accessories.
Last year, Steering Committee 389 found 100,000 smuggled cigarette packages and handed out fines of nearly VNĐ3 billion (US$135,000).
Nguyễn Xuân Hiệp, deputy director of the province’s Department of Industry and Trade, said that Steering Committee 389 fined violators involved in 1,222 cases last year.
Of the total number, 576 cases involved transportation of prohibited or smuggled goods; 507 cases, commercial fraud; and 34 cases, counterfeit goods.
