World Courant
Two males and a girl have been arrested for smuggling a whole lot of Apple iPhones into Vietnam, together with an plane technician employed by a subsidiary of nationwide provider Vietnam Airways, native media reported on Monday, after native police found their elaborate ruse to to keep away from having to pay a whole lot of hundreds of {dollars}. in customs duties.
Le Van Ngoc, 43, and Nguyen Anh Tuan, 33, have been arrested, whereas Ngoc’s spouse, 29, was additionally charged with performing as an confederate in aiding the smuggling, police stated on Sunday.
Tuan was arrested at Tan Son Nhat Worldwide Airport in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis after flying from Thailand with 12 new iPhone 14 Professional Max units that weren’t declared to customs, police stated.
Investigations revealed that he had conspired with Ngoc, a technician answerable for plane upkeep on the Vietnam Airways Engineering Firm, to promote greater than 600 comparable telephones value VND20 billion ($1.12 million) over an unspecified interval. smuggling.
Ngoc would inform Tuan about his work schedule on the airport, info that Tuan would use to ebook flights from Thailand to the Vietnamese metropolis. Upon arrival on the airport, Tuan handed over a batch of telephones he had bought from Thailand to the plane technician, who hid them in his software bag whereas he carried out his plane upkeep duties.
Ngoc would then go away the airport via a home terminal to keep away from customs inspections and organized to return the smuggled telephones to Tuan.
The technician earned VND900,000 (S$50) for every cellphone he helped Tuan smuggle with out paying import duties, police stated, whereas he and his spouse pocketed a complete of about VND500 million. The investigation led by Ho Chi Minh Metropolis police is ongoing.
Wave of smuggling circumstances
The case comes lower than a month after two males have been arrested for smuggling Apple smartphones into Vietnamese airports.
A Thai man was discovered to have 20 of the most recent iPhone 15 Professional Max units value greater than VND700 million packed in his carry-on baggage when he arrived at Da Nang Airport in central Vietnam from Bangkok on September 23, the Dan Tri reported Information web site.
On the identical day, a Vietnamese man was arrested for bringing 22 of the identical telephones he purchased from Singapore for VND900 million with out declaring them at airport customs in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis.
Passengers arriving in Vietnam are allowed to convey a second cellphone for private use, however the second cellphone could also be topic to import duties if its worth exceeds VND10 million (S$560).
Apple iPhones are extremely popular in Vietnam, the place provide usually lags behind demand because of excessive prices. The typical Vietnamese who earns a median of VND7 million month-to-month in line with official statistics must work full-time for over 4 months to afford an iPhone 15 Professional that prices VND29 million.
The newest iPhone 15 fashions have been launched on September 22 in Singapore, the US and Thailand, amongst others, whereas individuals in Vietnam have been solely allowed to purchase them via official channels every week later.
Lots of of enterprising Vietnamese flew to Singapore and Thailand to queue for the telephones, and a few of them are stated to have purchased them in bulk to resell of their nations.
Airport technician arrested for serving to smuggle a whole lot of newest iPhones into Vietnam
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