Vietnam customs officers charged over car racket
HANOI - Vietnamese police have charged
40 people, including 21 customs officials, for alleged
involvement in a car smuggling racket in the country's south,
state media reported on Thursday.
The Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper said the 40 people, who also
included six police officers, were charged with a range of
offences such as smuggling, fraud and taking bribes.
Ring leader Pham Ngoc Lam and his accomplices had smuggled
170 vehicles worth more than 53 billion dong ($3.78 million)
into Vietnam between 1994-1997, the newspaper said.
It was unclear when those charged would face court.
Smuggling and graft have become widespread in Vietnam in
recent years, and foreign investors have said the problems are a
major impediment to doing business in the country.
Several big smuggling cases involving customs officers have also
come to light this year, a fact that led to the removal of Phan
Van Dinh from his post as chief of the customs department in
October, diplomats have said.
Reuters - December 30, 1999.
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