Up to 226 cases of illegal firecracker smuggling nationwide have been recorded since last November with a total 11,500 kilos of different kinds of firecracker confiscated, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
Up to 226 cases of illegal firecracker smuggling nationwide have been recorded since last November
The Police Department for Administrative Management of Social Order (C64) recently worked with border soldiers and customs agencies in efforts to impound 1,450 kilos of firecrackers in Dong Trieu District, Quang Ninh Province.
Between September last year and January, police in the central province of Nghe An confiscated nearly 2.6 tonnes of illegal firecrackers in 39 cases.
Colonel Vu Minh Hung from C64 said traders bought firecrackers in China and then tried to smuggle them into the country. After that, the traders hire residents in border areas to transport them through mountainous roads to Vietnam. The areas bordering Laos and Cambodia are commonly used.
Hung added that the Ministry of Public Security has instructed directors of local police departments to strengthen awareness over the ban on firecrackers. Police will also be sent to localities to deter the trading and use of firecrackers on Tet. Violators will face strict punishment, even criminal prosecution.
According to the Ministry of Health, around 60 people across the country were taken to hospitals for injuries due to firecrackers during the last Tet holiday despite a ban being enforced in the country since 1994.
