Results of the implementation of the High-Intensity Plan to combat smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods before, during, and after the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Horse 2026.

1. Assess the situation 

The situation regarding smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods before, during, and after the Lunar New Year of the Horse in 2026 was complex and showed an increasing trend along sea routes and land borders; however, no hotspots emerged. Functional forces intensified inspections and strict controls on import and export activities at border gates, routes, and areas, thereby promptly detecting and handling violations.

The main violations involved trading and transporting prohibited goods and making false customs declarations. The infringing goods focused on high-profit items with high demand during the Tet holiday, such as: drugs, firecrackers; foreign liquor, cigarettes, confectionery, and dietary supplements; counterfeit goods in terms of brand and quality; and food, agricultural, and aquatic products of unknown origin or not meeting safety standards. 

Given  the  forecast that smuggling and trade fraud during the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026  will continue to be complex across various routes, areas, and online spaces due to increased consumer demand, the types of counterfeit goods are becoming increasingly diverse, originating from both domestic and foreign sources, and entering the market through various forms such as official import, unofficial import, smuggling, and trade fraud.  Notably, there is a growing trend of exploiting e-commerce and social media platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, Sendo, Facebook, TikTok, Zalo, YouTube, etc., along with postal and express delivery services, to smuggle and trade counterfeit, substandard, and goods of unknown origin with increasingly sophisticated methods and tactics.

2.  Develop and implement  a High-Intensity Plan to combat smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods before, during, and after the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Horse 2026.

In order to strengthen leadership and guidance in the fight against smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods before, during, and after the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Horse 2026, the Customs Department has proactively developed and implemented peak-intensity plans as directed by the National Steering Committee 389 and the Ministry of Finance's Steering Committee 389 (Plan No. 176/KH-BCĐ389 dated December 8, 2025 and Plan No. 03/KH-BCĐ389 dated October 16, 2025).

Based on this, the Customs Department issued Plan No. 30141/KH-CHQ dated October 20, 2025, on the peak period of combating smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods before, during, and after the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026, as a basis for directing units to organize and implement the plan synchronously, decisively, and effectively. At the same time, it requires subordinate units to proactively monitor the situation, promptly detect, combat, prevent, and strictly handle violations such as smuggling, trade fraud, illegal transportation of goods across the border; buying, selling, transporting, and storing prohibited goods, smuggled goods, counterfeit goods, imitation goods, substandard goods, and goods infringing intellectual property rights.

Following the directives  of  the National Steering Committee 389, the Ministry of Finance's Steering Committee 389, and the  Customs Department,  the regional Customs branches have  thoroughly and effectively implemented  the   peak-intensity plan according to their assigned areas and responsibilities. They have deployed personnel, vehicles, and equipment appropriately, and intensified patrols and controls at border crossings, land, rail, river, sea, and air routes, as well as trails, open areas, and goods gathering points near the border. The focus of control has been on prohibited goods, smuggled goods, substandard goods; conditionally imported and exported goods, goods with high tax rates, and essential goods for production, business, and consumption during the year-end and Lunar New Year holidays. This has contributed to effectively preventing violations, protecting the domestic market, and safeguarding consumer rights. 

Cases with criminal implications: 83 cases out of 8,879 cases, accounting for 0.93% of the total cases detected, apprehended, and processed. These cases mainly involved  the trafficking and transportation of prohibited goods: 40 cases out of 83 cases (48.2%) and smuggling and illegal transportation of goods and currency across borders: 33 cases out of 83 cases (39.7%). Regarding intellectual property violations and counterfeit goods: 6 cases out of 83 cases (7.2%) were concentrated in cases related to counterfeit intellectual property.

The administrative violations mainly focused on violations of customs declaration regulations, with 5,660 cases accounting for 63.7% of the detected and seized cases, and violations related to deadlines, with 2,058 cases accounting for 23.2%.  Specifically, violations of regulations on customs inspection, supervision, and control accounted for 420 cases out of 8,879 cases (4.7%); and violations related to counterfeit goods and intellectual property accounted for 55 cases out of 8,879 cases (0.62%).

* The situation regarding violations along the maritime route

The maritime route continues to be a key area, accounting for the largest proportion of violations with 4,956 out of 8,879 cases, equivalent to 55.8% of the total number of cases detected, seized, and processed. Violations are mainly concentrated at major seaports under the management of Customs Sub-departments in regions II, III, XII, etc. Notably, several violations have emerged related to intellectual property infringement of trademarks; false declarations regarding the legal status and scope of protection of industrial property rights; violations of regulations on product labeling; as well as the import of goods that do not meet the conditions, standards, and technical regulations as prescribed by law.

* The situation regarding violations on the road network.

On land routes, 2,569 out of 8,879 violations  were detected and apprehended  , accounting for 28.9% of the total, mainly along the Vietnam-China and Vietnam-Cambodia borders. Smugglers exploited policies facilitating import and export and preferential treatment for border residents to illegally transport goods across the border, using methods such as concealment and mixing goods with personal belongings and luggage. The main items involved in these violations included foreign currency, cigarettes, mobile phones, frozen food, gold, and e-cigarettes, with an increasing trend. Illegal trafficking of firecrackers and refined sugar continued in the Central region and along the Vietnam-Laos border. At trails, unofficial crossings, and areas near border gates, the buying and selling of goods of unknown origin, such as food, cosmetics, and consumer goods, persisted.

* The situation regarding violations on air transport and express delivery/postal services.

On air transport routes, 423 out of 8,879 cases were detected, apprehended, and processed  , accounting for 4.76%, with an estimated value of violations of approximately 272.9 billion VND, mainly at Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, and Da Nang international airports. For express delivery and postal services, 703 out of 8,879 cases were detected and processed, accounting for 7.92%, with an estimated value of violations of approximately 410.4 billion VND.

Notably, drug trafficking has emerged on flights carrying passengers entering Vietnam from Thailand, Taiwan, India, and on flights from Vietnam to New Zealand and Australia. Drugs are often cleverly concealed in cosmetic bottles or coffee boxes. Furthermore, due to the difference between domestic and international gold prices, the illegal trafficking of gold via air transport continues to be complex, with many cases of passengers concealing gold bars exceeding the permitted limit without declaring them to customs.

   *  Results of the fight against drug trafficking

During the period before, during, and after the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Horse 2026 (from October 15, 2025 to March 15, 2026), the Customs Department, in coordination with the Police, Border Guard, and Coast Guard forces, detected and apprehended 85 cases involving 140 individuals. Of these, the Customs agency spearheaded 31 cases; coordinated with the Police in 37 cases; and coordinated with the Border Guard and Coast Guard in 17 cases.

The seized items included:  605.6 kg of various types of drugs ( 33.8 kg of cannabis; 49.8 kg of heroin; 15.5 kg of cocaine; 51 kg of ketamine; 279.2 kg of synthetic drugs; 176 kg of other types of drugs; 1,400 synthetic drug pills and 300 bags of "happy water" ).

* Coordination work

The forces regularly coordinate and support each other in professional matters, reviewing, compiling lists, and managing various types of individuals showing signs of violations in the area; coordinating the implementation of professional measures, verifying cases and individuals, and conducting special investigations. The coordination during the peak period of the Lunar New Year (Tet) in 2026 focused on handling acts related to  national security, social security and order ;  smuggling , illegal transportation of goods  across borders ,  intellectual property violations  , and   drug- related violations .  As a result, from October 15, 2025 to March 15, 2026, the Customs agency, in coordination with other functional forces, investigated, detected, arrested, and processed 356 cases/420 individuals, with the estimated value of the seized goods being 90 billion VND.

4. Some key tasks from now until the end of 2026:

In the context of forecasts indicating that the domestic economy will continue to face many difficulties and challenges from external factors, but with the decisive and timely direction of the Government, macroeconomic stability is expected to be maintained.  To effectively carry out the assigned political tasks in 2026, and to continue building on the achievements in implementing Plan No. 30141/KH-CHQ dated October 20, 2025, of the Customs Department on the peak period of combating smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods before, during, and after the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Horse 2026, the Customs Department has identified the following key areas of focus for implementation from now until the end of 2026:

1. Vigorously implement the directives and instructions of the Government, the Prime Minister, the National Steering Committee for Combating Smuggling, Commercial Fraud and Counterfeit Goods, and the Steering Committee of the Ministry of Finance in the fight against smuggling, commercial fraud and counterfeit goods.

Timely implementation of directives from the Government and the Prime Minister; developing programs, plans, and warnings in  the fight against smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, substandard goods,  drug trafficking,  and crime prevention ;  developing and implementing key work plans and programs in each locality to provide warnings about anti-smuggling control within customs control areas.

 Proactively develop plans and strategies for verifying, combating, and effectively preventing complex and prominent cases of smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods; clearly define the leading role and coordinating responsibilities of functional forces and localities in each route and area. Strengthen exchange, coordination, and information sharing with ministries, agencies, domestic functional forces, and countries sharing borders, as well as international organizations, to improve the effectiveness of combating and handling violations. Clearly define the responsibilities of customs forces in the prevention and control of smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods.

2. Implement synchronized and effective customs control measures; strengthen inspection and strict supervision on routes, areas, and for key goods, focusing on prohibited goods, high-value goods, and goods with high tax rates. Conduct strict inspection and supervision of import and export goods, people, and vehicles entering and exiting the country; focusing on high-risk types such as processing, export production, tax-exempt investment, independent transport, temporary import for re-export, temporary export for re-import, transshipment, transit, and goods stored in bonded warehouses. Promptly detect, prevent, arrest, and effectively handle acts of smuggling, trade fraud, production and trading of counterfeit goods, prohibited goods, goods infringing intellectual property rights; illegal transportation of goods and drugs across borders, and other violations of the law in the customs field.

3. Strengthen the application of drug control measures at all stages, routes, and locations; information related to the illegal buying, selling, and transportation of narcotics must be handled promptly, confidentially, and strictly from the beginning to the end of the case, ensuring that no information or suspects are revealed; focus on controlling, detecting, and preventing drug crimes within customs operational areas; proactively coordinate with functional forces (Police, Border Guard, etc.) in combating drug trafficking cases.  Focus control on drugs and precursors in key drug-related areas at land border crossings, seaports, express delivery points, and airports. In addition, attention should be paid to other areas such as export processing zones, industrial parks, bonded warehouses, etc., which may be locations for drug production and storage.

4. Promote the application of science and technology; take the lead and coordinate closely with domestic and foreign functional forces in inspecting, controlling, and monitoring export and import goods, and luggage of departing and arriving passengers to promptly detect, combat, and effectively prevent smuggling, trade fraud, and illegal transportation of goods through international airports.