On Thursday, officers continued to discover more violations of the goods found in the ten containers seized late last year shortly after they cleared customs, while the importers still refuse to come forward.

The labels on the products say they are manufactured in the southern province of Dong Nai, while they are in fact Chinese-made goods smuggled into Vietnam, according to officers under Ho Chi Minh City’s market watchdog agency.

The containers managed to pass customs on December 30, but were captured by economic police and market management officers shortly after they were transported out of the VICT port.

The detained products are currently being stored in the market watchdog agency’s warehouse in District 9 for inspection, from which officers have already found many of them to be disguised as Vietnamese-made goods.

Dozens of cartons of 16 Power Lampredrhy hair dye are said to be manufactured in Dong Nai’s Long Thanh District, according to the labels.

There is also information on the labels in Vietnamese regarding the function and usage of the product as well as warnings.

But the labels lack an expiration date or information regarding the manufacturer.

An official from the PC46 police unit said this is a very sophisticated trick to manufacture fake products.

“Consumers, and even authorities, may be fooled by such disguised products from China,” he said.

The hair dye and many other cosmetic products in the containers have been imported without a license from the health ministry, another officer said.

Bogus company

The containers are imported by two companies -- Tan Nhat Huy Vinh Dat Co Ltd, based in District 11, and Nhat Minh Co Ltd, in District 6 -- but both companies have not met with police.

A Tuoi Tre reporter came to the Tan Nhat Huy Vinh Dat Co headquarters on Thursday, only to see the office behind closed doors.

Residents nearby said the company has been closed since New Year’s Day, two days after the containers were seized, and no employees have been seen. Prior to the shutdown, the company operated normally, locals said.

Tan Nhat Huy Vinh Dat Co obtained their business license on October 21, 2013 and its director is Ho Sam Dung, according to a document obtained by Tuoi Tre.

Meanwhile, the second importer, Nhat Minh Co, does not seem to exist, as the address it declared with customs turned out to be fake. However, the company was licensed by the city’s investment department in late August 2013.

Checking loophole

With a huge amount of smuggled products able to slip through customs, a PC46 officer said there is a big loophole in the checking process at the seaport customs agencies.

The containers were required to undergo checks in which 5 percent of the products inside each container were taken out for examination.

With each container holding more than 500 individual products, 5 percent is equal to 25 goods checked.

But in reality, only five to seven products from each container were checked, with a checking rate of only 1.34 percent.