HANOI: Two men in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak are being investigated for smuggling chemicals used for ripening and preserving durian fruits, with total transactions approaching VND100 billion (US$3.9 million).
Local police announced on Friday (May 9) that they had initiated legal proceedings against Nguyen Thai Nguyen, 42, from Tien Giang province, and Tran Van Ngo, 45, from Ha Tinh province.
Nguyen and Ngo allegedly collaborated in 2022 to import chemicals from Thailand used for ripening and preserving durian fruits.
They communicated via telephone and the Telegram social media platform to coordinate purchases, agree on delivery terms and make payments through bank transfers.
Based on Nguyen’s requests, Ngo contacted a company in Thailand to purchase the goods, then arranged for them to be packaged, labelled, and transported into Vietnam via informal border crossings.
In late July 2024, police caught Nguyen and a hired worker loading goods from an apartment in the Ecocity Premia urban area in Buon Ma Thuot City, into a car for delivery to a customer.
Authorities seized 293 cardboard cartons packed with 3,500 bottles and containers, all labelled in foreign languages without supplementary labels or documentation indicating origin.
Evidence collected by police shows that between 2023 and July 2024, Nguyen and Ngo had carried out 80 transactions involving the smuggled products, with a total value close to VND100 billion.
Police are finalising the case file for prosecution. - Vietnam News/ANN
