Vietnam's border guards bust smuggling ring moving tonnes of unsafe food

At 10.50 am on Sunday, a task force caught Nguyen Quang Lu, 32, and Tran Duc Tien, 44, both residents of Lao Cai Ward in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, red-handed carrying a total of 60 kg of illegally imported immature chicken eggs in the import channel of the border gate.

The eggs originated in China and were found to be leaking liquid and emitting a foul smell. The consignment had no legal documentation and had not been declared to customs.

At the same time, another task force raided a storage warehouse on Trieu Quang Phuc Street, in residential group 30 of the ward.

A further 641 kg of smuggled immature chicken eggs was discovered and seized. The goods were being stored and guarded by Vang Van Tuan, 40, a resident of Ban Lau Commune in the province.

At the border guard station, the suspects said they had been hired to cross into China, divide the goods into smaller quantities and pack them into backpacks and handbags. 

They would then conceal the consignments beneath personal belongings to smuggle them through the border gate. They were paid around VND17,000 (US$ 0.66) per kg.

After successfully entering Vietnam, the porters would ride motorbikes along circuitous routes through densely populated residential areas, repeatedly changing direction to evade surveillance by the authorities before taking the goods to the warehouse.

Once there, the eggs would be packed into foam boxes and loaded into 40-foot refrigerated containers for freezing.

The unsafe food would then be disguised as ordinary consignments and sent on interprovincial passenger coaches for distribution further inland.

The ring's storage facilities were fitted with extensive CCTV systems, while lookouts were stationed along transport routes to alert members to any developments and allow the goods to be swiftly moved if necessary.

The station is continuing its investigation to establish the roles of the alleged ringleaders and bring those responsible to justice in accordance with the law.