Customs Department (Ministry of Finance): Plan to strengthen control of drugs and drug precursors

According to the Customs Department, currently, the domestic drug crime situation continues to develop complicatedly on key routes and areas with increasingly sophisticated and aggressive methods and tricks, causing difficulties for the authorities' fight.

The activities of TPMT in a case may involve multiple routes at the same time; there is close collusion between domestic and foreign subjects. In particular, individuals and subjects mobilized to participate in transportation at each stage and link may not know each other; the masterminds and leaders are mostly abroad, operating the transnational operation through the application of modern science and technology, communication utilities and transaction services.

The import and export of precursor chemicals in Vietnam has also increased. The activities of transnational drug crime gangs and lines have taken advantage of preferential policies, investment attraction, and trade facilitation for import and export activities, entry and exit on roads, sea routes, and air routes to seek to establish enterprises in Vietnam to transport vehicles, equipment, raw materials, rent warehouses, etc. to serve the production and illegal transportation of drugs from abroad into Vietnam and continue to send them to third countries for consumption.

In addition, imported precursors also pose a risk of being exploited, used to prepare and illegally produce drugs. The amount of precursors exported from Vietnam to other countries, especially Laos and Cambodia, continues to increase. Meanwhile, the situation of illegal production of synthetic drugs in Laos and Cambodia continues to be very complicated.

The Customs Department will strengthen the fight against and suppress drug trafficking; promote professional coordination within and outside the industry, domestically and internationally. Proactively develop plans and strategies to combat drug trafficking; analyze, identify, accurately forecast the situation, detect, and disseminate warnings about sophisticated and complicated methods and tricks of drug trafficking on routes and areas to ensure effective prevention and suppression of drugs early and from afar, especially with drug crimes using high technology, organized and transnational activities.

Proactively control the situation, promptly detect, combat, prevent and handle violations related to import and export activities, use of precursors, chemical mixtures containing precursors, products and preparations containing precursors occurring in customs operation areas; take advantage of means of entry and exit, types of import and export of goods to smuggle and illegally transport drugs and precursors across the border.

Reviewing the import and export records of enterprises to identify methods and tricks for committing violations in import and export activities, use and management of precursors; detecting loopholes and errors in records, declarations, and procedures for import and export of precursors.

The plan also aims to promptly prevent subjects from taking advantage of the import and export of precursors to illegally produce narcotics; to strengthen strict management of import and export, entry and exit, temporary import, re-export, temporary export, re-import through Vietnam of narcotics and drug precursors according to regulations.

Regarding the implementation content, the plan clearly states that, based on the practical situation in the assigned management area, units are required to promptly deploy and synchronously apply professional measures on controlling, preventing and combating narcotics and coordinate in controlling precursors; strengthen coordination with agencies, ministries and branches to proactively detect, combat, prevent and handle violations of the law related to drugs and precursors.

Focusing on strengthening information collection and analysis; inspection and control work to identify key routes and areas related to TPMT and precursors.

Look up, synthesize, and analyze data on the customs data system to review, evaluate, and identify import and export shipments with high risk of drug-related issues, manage precursors; specifically identify key locations, items, and subjects to focus resources on the fight.

Collect relevant documents (including: documents at the enterprise, documents for customs procedures at border customs units, licensing documents at specialized management agencies) and other information.

When detecting signs of violations, the specialized anti-drug units of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department and the regional Customs Sub-Departments and Customs units shall report to the competent leaders for direction on handling and immediately coordinate with the specialized anti-drug forces in the area (Police, Border Guard, Coast Guard) to conduct investigation, verification, combat, arrest the subject red-handed, seize the evidence and hand it over to the competent authorities for handling according to regulations.

Statistics from December 16, 2024 to March 15, 2025, the customs agency presided over and coordinated with the police and border guards to detect and arrest: 48 cases/47 subjects, of which the customs agency presided over 17 cases. Evidence seized: 202kg of various drugs (401.7 grams of opium; 33.98 kg of marijuana; 11.09 kg of heroin; 13 kg of ketamine; 141.63 kg of synthetic drugs; 2.005 kg and 60,000 other drug pills).

Tran Mung

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/cuc-hai-quan-bo-tai-chinh-ke-hoach-tang-cuong-kiem-soat-ma-tuy-tien-chat-ma-tuy-post546283.html