Smugglers clash with custom officers at Cambodia-Vietnam border
Hundreds of smugglers stormed one of Vietnam's main land border
crossings
with Cambodia, leaving three customs officers severely injured when they
tried to grab a big haul of contraband, a checkpoint official said.
The clash flared early last week when the mob attacked customs officers
with
fists, sticks, and knives in a bid to get their goods through the Vinh
Xuong
international checkpoint, the official told AFP Tuesday.
"Ten of us were attacked when we seized a third of about 30 sacks of
smuggled refined sugar. One of my colleagues is still in hospital for
his
serious injury," said customs officer Dao Dinh Huan.
"Hundreds of people, some of them armed with weapons then surrounded the
checkpoint yelling at and threatening the officers and only drove away
when
the border army forces and police arrived," Huan added.
Vinh Xuong international checkpoint, located in the Mekong river delta
province of An Giang, is a smuggling hotspot for electronics, cosmetics,
sugar and other goods entering Vietnam from Cambodia.
Last month, troops were deployed at Cau Treo checkpoint, one of
Vietnam's
main borders crossing with Laos after a customs anti-smuggling operation
met
violent resistance from locals.
Agence France Presse - May 28, 2002
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