HCMC – Twenty-five containers of monazite concentrate imported to Vietnam through the Quy Nhon Port in Binh Dinh Province were shipped out of the country as they contain radioactive substances, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
The information was revealed in a statement of the general department on smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods in Vietnam since early this year, the local media reported.
The general department had earlier coordinated with the customs at the Quy Nhon Port under the Binh Dinh Customs Department to ask Trung Viet Import-Export and Investment Co., Ltd, the importer of the 25 containers, to send the shipment back to the port of destination.
On May 2 last year, Trung Viet made a declaration at the customs agency at the Quy Nhon Port to import the 25 containers from Russia’s Vostochniy Port in line with the Ministry of Science and Technology’s License 39/GP-BKHCN.
However, the monazite concentrate containers contained Urani and Thori radioactive substances with contents not in line with the license.
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, during the Tet holiday, customs agencies detected and handled more than 2,700 cases with violations of customs regulations, up over 29% year-on-year. The customs agencies fined violators more than VND38 trillion and proposed filing charges against 27 cases, rising 27.27% and 35%, respectively.
