Cambodian law-enforcement agencies recently carried out an anti-smuggling operation near the Cambodia–Vietnam border in Svay Rieng province, under the overall direction of customs director-general 坤宁 and crime prevention and suppression department director 努西塔. They seized a large quantity of smuggled cigarettes without customs tax stamps.
The operation was led by 碧吉拉, deputy director of the nationwide crime suppression department, with mobile customs officers from the crime prevention and suppression department carrying out the enforcement work. It received support from Svay Rieng province’s Border Defence Unit 232, the national Royal Gendarmerie, the provincial Royal Gendarmerie and the Bavet International Border Checkpoint customs office. Under the coordination of Svay Rieng Provincial Court prosecutor 坎索法里, deputy prosecutor 莱忠恒 led judicial supervision of the operation. The agencies jointly searched a private cigarette warehouse in 干拉 village, 巴萨 sangkat, Bavet city, Svay Rieng province, along the Cambodia–Vietnam border.
Officers counted three types of smuggled cigarettes without customs tax stamps. The detailed quantities included Taiwan-made JPS cigarettes: 312 cases, with 60 cartons per case, totalling 18,720 cartons; UK-made B&H cigarettes: 186 cases, totalling 11,160 cartons; and Indonesian-made Winfield Original Classic cigarettes: 102 cases, totalling 6,120 cartons. The seizure totalled 600 cases containing 36,000 cartons.
All the seized cigarettes have been impounded and stored at the dedicated warehouse of the Bavet International Border Checkpoint customs office. Their subsequent disposal will be decided by the leadership of Cambodia’s customs administration in accordance with the law.
The joint operation targeted cigarette smuggling along the Cambodia–Vietnam border and was presented as a deterrent to illicit border trade and a demonstration of the authorities’ commitment to tackling cross-border smuggling, maintaining border trade order and enforcing customs laws.
