June 3, 2008

 

Vietnam struggles over poultry smuggling

    

   

Vietnamese authorities are having trouble curbing the poultry smuggling activities in Lang Son province as local folks are suspected of being involved in the illegal trade.

 

According to the province's Animal Health Department, almost 100 tonnes of smuggled low-quality poultry were seized in the first five months of the year.

 

The province's Dong Dang, Bao Lam and Thuî Hung communes and the area along the border gate of Chi Ma are places where the smuggling is most prevalent.

 

According to an official from the department, the chicken is "hazardous" to consume as the bird is being fed by rations that quickly puts on weight, making animals look large and healthy.

 

The official said the feed's content may "harm the people."

 

However, the profits that smugglers make are large enough to motivate many people to break the law.

 

Smugglers buy a 1.5kg chicken at the price of VND30,000 (US$1.8) and sell it at markets in Hanoi for VND150,000 (US$9.3).

 

Phuong Minh Hung, the head of Market Watch Unit No.2 in Dong Dang Town, said smugglers can easily recruit local people to help bring the poultry into Vietnam.

 

Resident of Thui Hung Commune, Phung Thi Hoi, said all about 64 households in her village took part in transporting poultry from the border.

 

Each person can transport 80kg of smuggled chickens per day and earn about VND200,000 (US$12.30), a big sum for the village people.

 

Poverty in the area makes the offer of quick cash from smuggling all the more enticing to locals. According to Hung, villagers walk over the border to pick up poultry, and wait for others from the village to pick them up and take them back on a motorbike. The poultry is taken by bike to trucks used by the smuggling ringleaders.

 

Dozens of trucks loaded with smuggled poultry daily pass undetected through quarantine stations from Lang Son Province to Hanoi, without presenting any legal documents.

 

Hung said the ringleaders try to ensure they are not caught by carrying out the smuggling in many stages, and also hire people to watch out for anti-smuggling officers.

 

But local authorities face additional difficulties in carrying out the fight. Villagers are angered on authorities prying and arresting smugglers, stating that their easy income is being taken away from them.

 

While laws on smuggling are harsher for those caught with more than VND100 million (US$6,250) worth of goods, smugglers get around this by getting locals to transport small loads.

 

That way, when they are caught with smuggled good below the threshold, they don't face the risk of legal proceedings.

 

This situation means most smuggling ringleaders who have been caught have only had to pay small fines and the loss of their poultry.

 

Provincial authorities said they had mobilised all forces to work together on preventing poultry smuggling, but they are struggling to find an effective punishment for the crime.

 

Efforts to fight smugglers include the development of four forces to deal with the problem. These include border forces at border areas, market watch officials in areas near border provinces and police forces in cities and towns working with officers at quarantine stations.

 

To contribute to preventing and combating poultry smuggling, the province's Animal Quarantine Department have planned to build a new quarantine centre. In addition, local authorities and relevant units are working to raise public awareness on the dangers of smuggled poultry to people's health. Authorities are also considering ways to boost local employment to also help fight smugglers.