Warehouse storing goods allegedly trafficked from China busted in Saigon

Thousands of items suspected of being imported unlawfully from China were seized after authorities raided a warehouse in Ho Chi Minh City, the municipal market surveillance unit said on Monday.

The raid was conducted on a warehouse at number 12 Phu Dinh Street in District 8.

At that time of the inspection, officials caught a shipping container from which goods prepared to be unloaded into the warehouse.

A follow-up examination showed the premises stored around 8,000 items including cosmetics, perfume bottles, soap, household appliances, and packaged foods.

No proof of purchase was available for the items, which are valued at around VND800 million (US$34,600).

The authority continued to inspect the container, which had an import declaration, and another site on the premises and discovered roughly 5,000 items including toys, cosmetics, household appliances and phone accessories, and 80,000 face masks from China without any invoices.

Their total value is estimated to be VND2 billion ($86,700).

The goods are now sealed for further investigation as per regulations.

Medical face masks without invoices are seized from a warehouse on Phu Dinh Street in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Nguyen Tri / Tuoi Tre

Medical face masks without invoices are seized from a warehouse on Phu Dinh Street in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Nguyen Tri / Tuoi Tre