As the lunar New
Year approaches, gas, sugar, cigarette, foreign wines, cloth, cooking, etc. from Cambodia have been streaming into Vietnam through
border gates in southwestern provinces.

On the
roads of Khanh An, Khanh Binh communes in An Phu district, An Giang province, there
are hundreds of motorbikes carrying smuggled sugar. In the river, dozens of
boats also carry sugar from Cambodia
into Vietnam.

A motorbike
driver named Tan, in An Giang, said that he transported sugar from boats to a
warehouse in An Giang, where smuggled sugar becomes domestically-produced
sugar, with regular vouchers.

He said
that boats often work from the afternoon until the early morning of the next
day, transporting around 400 sacks of sugar, equivalent to 200 tons, from Cambodia
to An Giang each night.

An Giang is
the home to dozens of sugar smugglers, who have big warehouses, many boats and
hundreds of porters. From these warehouses, smuggled sugar is delivered to many
provinces by trucks and motorbikes.

Apart from
sugar, smuggling of cigarettes and gas is also a frequent occurrence. On the
road from Chau Doc, An Giang province to Can Tho, one can see many motorbikes
carrying cigarettes. On average, a motorbike driver carries 300 cartons each
time. If they successfully transport the smuggled cigarettes, they will be paid
VND100,000 ($5).

Along Vinh
Te canal, the section crossing Tinh Bien town, there are 4-5 places where gas
is gathered to transport to Cambodia.
At present, the gas price in Vietnam
is VND500 dong lower than in Cambodia.

From Huu
Nghi bridge along Vinh Te canal to Kien Luong district, Kien Giang province,
boats carrying smuggled gas run quickly.

“Boats run
both day and night. We can’t sleep in the smuggling season,” complained a woman
named An, whose house is located on the bank of Vinh Te canal.

The
smuggling season, according to Mrs. An is from November to February.

PV