Director arrested for smuggling milk from the US to Vietnam

SGGPO 05/07/2023 13:20

The Ho Chi Minh City Police Investigation Agency has initiated a case, prosecuted and temporarily detained Tran Quoc Khanh (Director of Busan Company branch) and Tran Ngoc Dang for smuggling.

Seized exhibits

Previously, on the evening of April 12, Ho Chi Minh City Police detectives discovered a suspicious tractor-trailer in an empty lot on Vo Chi Cong Street (Phu Huu Ward, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City). Upon inspection, the police discovered 4,171 cartons of Ensure, Glucerna and Horizon milk (521 cartons more than the customs declaration).

At the time of the investigation, Khanh could not present invoices or documents related to the shipment. Those involved stated that Khanh had organized the import of the shipment from the US to Vietnam for consumption through Busan Company. Khanh knew that Ensure brand milk products had information on the packaging that they were not for sale in Vietnam or Mexico.

To import, a certificate of product declaration registration issued by the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene is required. Therefore, Khanh asked an officer of the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene of Nam Dinh province to fake product declaration procedures for three milk products under the brands Ensure, Glucerna and Horizon for 10 million VND.

On February 1, Khanh bought the entire shipment from Thuy (in the US) for $50,000, while the selling price in Vietnam was more than VND4.6 billion. Thuy emailed Khanh about the above contract.

Khanh then used the product declaration registration receipt issued by L. to illegally import 3,411 cartons of Abbott Ensure Original Nutritinon Shake Vanilla milk from the US to Vietnam, worth more than 3.6 billion VND.

In addition, Khanh directed Dang to edit, cut and paste the signature, lower data than the actual and the unit price of imported goods to declare to customs to reduce the tax payable. Khanh asked Dang to declare and transmit the declaration data to the customs authority lower than the actual quantity of 521 cartons of various types of milk, worth more than 574 million VND.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/bat-tam-giam-giam-doc-nhap-lau-sua-tu-my-ve-viet-nam-post688638.html