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City court starts big mobile-phone smuggling ring hearing(The Saigon Times Daily Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) (SGT-HCMC) The HCMC Peoples Court yesterday opened the first-instance hearing of the criminal case against a ring that had smuggled nearly 18,000 mobile phones. The ring, led by Nguyen Thi Thuy Duong, 29, is alleged to have trafficked 17,952 cell phones worth some US$3.22 million from Cambodia to Vietnam between August 2004 and June 2005. According to the indictment, the mobiles were illegally imported via the Vinh Nguong border gate in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang by Duong and her accessories, including Nguyen Thi Kim Hanh, Nguyen Duc Dung, Truong Van Quoc Viet, Luong Ngoc Hoa and Vo Lac Giang Son. It is alleged that Duong and her accomplices moved from six to ten illegal packages of mobiles each month, during a 10 month period. This is the second biggest ever cell-phone smuggling ring uncovered in Vietnam. The court adjourns for consideration and sentencing this Friday. The uncovering of Dong Nam Co.s smuggling operation is the largest to date, with some 16,682 mobile phones valued at VND52.2 billion (US$3.3 million) revealed, entailing tax avoidance of more than US$6.5 million from import tariffs between 1999 and 2002. The ringleader, Nguyen Gia Thieu has already been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Copyright 2006 The Saigon Times Daily. Source: Financial Times Information Limited - Asia Intelligence Wire. |