Joint Forces to Fight Smuggling and Drug Trafficking by Air

Facing complicated smuggling and illegal transportation of banned substances and drugs by air, the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDC) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) recently co-organized a training workshop on the management of aviation security risks and smuggling combat by air in Ho Chi Minh City.

This was the first training conference organized by the two agencies for leaders and managers of GDC agencies and aviation units that work together at international airports. GDC and CAAV are both members of the National Civil Aviation Security Committee.

GDC Deputy General Director Luu Manh Tuong said that GDC and CAAV have coordinated to perform their tasks well. However, at present, the volume of goods and passengers at airports is going up, which requires better coordination of the two forces to cope with the more sophisticated tricks of smugglers and drug traffickers.

Smuggling and illegal transportation of goods, currencies and drugs by air have tended to look up. Smugglers have taken advantage of trade facilitation mechanisms and policies, e-commerce development, express delivery and freight consignment services, linked and colluded with foreign parties to form smuggling and illegal transportation lines to carry prohibited goods and items that affect national security and community safety across airports with increasingly sophisticated methods and tricks, especially at major international airports such as Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai. Therefore, it is necessary to have close coordination of the customs force and other authorities in the coming time.                                         

By Le Hien, Vietnam Business Forum