As local authorities have tightened monitoring on road transportation during the busy New Year time, smugglers are taking advantage of the Nam Thi River to float goods in from China.
On the early morning of November 21, 2022, local authorities found two men picking up five bags containing 140 kilos of trout floating on the Nam Thi River in Ban Phiet and Bao Thang districts. The two men fled after being detected. Their goods were seized and destroyed.
This was just one among several cases in which floating goods were recently found on the river.
Lao Cai has over 180 kilometres of border road with China that China has carefully fenced. At present, import-export activities between Lao Cai and China have been carried out via Lao Cai International Railway Station and Kim Thanh II Border Gate.
The deputy head of Lao Cai Provincial Economic Zone Management Board, Ha Duc Thuan, said that some 300 trucks go through Kim Thanh II Border Gate every day, including 100 carrying vegetables and fruit.
"Vegetables and fruit made up the largest amount and revenues of imported goods from China," Thuan said.
In 2022, Lao Cai dealt with 1,846 smuggling cases, up 464 compared to last year.