Smuggled goods being transported along an An Giang Province road.Thursday, October 23, 2008
Reported by Son Binh Thanh Nien News (Hanoi)
Smuggling generates such a good income for residents of a southern commune that most aren’t interested in doing anything else.
Two rowboats, traveling side-by-side go first. Another boat will follow five kilometers behind. Trailing about two kilometers back is a small unmanned boat carrying goods to be smuggled across the border. The boss’s motorboat brings up the rear.
The smugglers use flashlights to communicate – constant flashing means “everything’s okay,” sweeping a torch in circles is the signal for “we must cancel this.”
The smuggled goods are kept in waterproof bags. If discovered, the team will tip the unmanned boat so the goods sink. After marking the spot with poles, the smugglers swim to escape.
This is the basic routine followed through the night from the Mekong Delta’s An Giang Province across the Cambodian border.
“There’s an unwritten rule among smugglers that the goods must be saved no matter what - except when our lives are in danger,” said Long Be, a former smuggling scout.
“Smuggling is our source of income for years and we will do anything to protect it if someone intervenes,” a local transporter of smuggled goods said.
Most locals in Tinh Bien District’s Xuan To Commune, near the Tinh Bien border gate, are involved in trafficking.
A boat loaded with gasoline containers prepares to leave the Mekong Delta's An Giang Province for Cambodia
They are hired as porters to carry items such as gas, cotton, bicycles and electronic devices, popular because of the differential in price and quality between Cambodia and Vietnam.
How much they are paid depends on the amount and value of the goods. For one trip across the border, a porter will usually be paid VND100,000-VND300,000 (US$6-18), allowing each porter to earn about VND1 million to VND2 million ($60-120) a month.
“Going to school makes no money but carrying smuggled goods does,” said teenage smuggler Cuong.
Almost every poor household in the area relies on smuggling, according to Tinh Bien District’s Statistics Office.
“Carrying heavy things often makes my legs and hands go numb,” said a 40-year-old local man. “But it allows me to repair my house after every flood season and to send my children to school.”
The center of smuggling between the two countries in Cambodia is Phum Ta Mau, which attracts many families in Chau Doc Town and people from many localities including Ho Chi Minh City.
Dozens of makeshift parking lots have been set up for people who journey across the border.
People who cross the border have to pay a fee of about VND50,000 ($3), although frequent smugglers are only charged VND5,000 each.
Smuggling doesn’t require capital or maturity, strength is enough. “It’s a real occupation,” said 23-year-old Tam, who has been transporting smuggled goods for 10 years. “We have big and beautiful houses thanks to Ta Mau.”
Gold and heroin smuggling doesn’t usually rely on porters carrying the goods on foot. If caught, these smugglers can be jailed or sentenced to death.
Local Tu said Cambodia’s gold was of low quality and thus “one tael is more than VND100,000 ($6) cheaper than in Vietnam.”
Some fruit vendors, after striking up acquaintances with border guards, will pretend to be selling fruit across the borders. They return to Vietnam with gold, often worn as jewelry, to make a profit of up to VND700,000 ($42) a day.
Other favorite hiding spots for gold smugglers are a secret compartment in a motorbike fuel tank or under a pile of scraps.
In Xuan Phu Hamlet, many of the ditches along Vinh Te Canal have been deepened and narrowed so the canals are just big enough for a motorboat.
Heroin can even be concealed in boat oars, which can be sunk if authorities descend.
In May last year, three Taiwanese, a Cambodian and two Vietnamese were caught in An Giang Province with 2.5 kilograms of heroin.
The gang was accused of trafficking drugs to Vietnam from Cambodia by road and from other Asian countries and Australia by air, according to the prosecutor’s indictment.
Under Vietnamese laws, trafficking more than 600 grams of heroin or 20 kilograms of opium is punishable by death.
In flooding season when it’s difficult to travel, smugglers try to carry as much as they can on each trip, often with up to 10 boats in a “caravan.”
“What else can I do? Sit and show my teeth for my children to count?” said a hired scout nicknamed Tiger.
Tiger prays every night they go out smuggling because if they succeed, he will receive VND150,000 ($9).
“But when police find the goods, we have no guts to ask for payment because the boss has already lost so much,” he said. “It will be a tiring day for nothing.”
Life and death occupation
Scout Long Be remembers one night three years ago like it was Wednesday.
“When the police found and chased after us, we ran our boat like crazy for an hour without knowing where we were going. When the police gave up the chase we found ourselves in a whirlpool.
“We woke up the next morning and realized we were in a wild land of Kien Giang Province [neighboring An Giang].
“Our boss’ boat was nowhere to be found. We shared some raw crabs. Some were so hungry they ate some leaves which made them vomit. We all expected to die.
“But a boat finally appeared late that afternoon when we were all exhausted. One old man called Nam had to be taken to hospital.”
The smugglers were also fleeing police last lunar New Year and could not “fulfill our responsibility of making offerings to our ancestors,” said Sau Cai, a longtime smuggler. “But that’s just our life, we can’t change it.”
Sau Ca has scars all over his arms and legs, after being swept away by the water many times. Police guns have been trained on his head at least 10 times.
Smuggling in the flooding season brings its own danger when the boats can get caught in whirlpools, which are so dangerous that sometimes even strong swimmers can drown, said Sau Ca.
“My brother and several others in his team were killed that way five years ago,” he said.
Another danger is boat accidents when “we fall asleep after staying up the whole night,” said Sau Ca.
When transporting the goods on foot, the carriers have to run as fast as they can when chased by border guards. Often their legs bleed after a chase.
After a close shave with authorities, smugglers often have to stay home for months “without knowing how to get by,” said local Sau.
Running from border guards can be risky, Sau said. A boy called Qua fell and broke his neck while fleeing and many motorbike smugglers are also killed during high-speed chases.
But all those things are expected. “The biggest danger lies across the border,” according to Sau Ca.
Once soldiers from Cambodia fired into a smuggling gang of around 20 people and then arrested the whole team, who had hidden behind trees, recalled Sau Ca.
“But then the soldiers recognized the smugglers and apologized, saying they had just started shooting because they were drunk,” he said.
Two rowboats, traveling side-by-side go first. Another boat will follow five kilometers behind. Trailing about two kilometers back is a small unmanned boat carrying goods to be smuggled across the border. The boss’s motorboat brings up the rear.
The smugglers use flashlights to communicate – constant flashing means “everything’s okay,” sweeping a torch in circles is the signal for “we must cancel this.”
The smuggled goods are kept in waterproof bags. If discovered, the team will tip the unmanned boat so the goods sink. After marking the spot with poles, the smugglers swim to escape.
This is the basic routine followed through the night from the Mekong Delta’s An Giang Province across the Cambodian border.
“There’s an unwritten rule among smugglers that the goods must be saved no matter what - except when our lives are in danger,” said Long Be, a former smuggling scout.
“Smuggling is our source of income for years and we will do anything to protect it if someone intervenes,” a local transporter of smuggled goods said.
Most locals in Tinh Bien District’s Xuan To Commune, near the Tinh Bien border gate, are involved in trafficking.
A boat loaded with gasoline containers prepares to leave the Mekong Delta's An Giang Province for CambodiaThey are hired as porters to carry items such as gas, cotton, bicycles and electronic devices, popular because of the differential in price and quality between Cambodia and Vietnam.
How much they are paid depends on the amount and value of the goods. For one trip across the border, a porter will usually be paid VND100,000-VND300,000 (US$6-18), allowing each porter to earn about VND1 million to VND2 million ($60-120) a month.
“Going to school makes no money but carrying smuggled goods does,” said teenage smuggler Cuong.
Almost every poor household in the area relies on smuggling, according to Tinh Bien District’s Statistics Office.
“Carrying heavy things often makes my legs and hands go numb,” said a 40-year-old local man. “But it allows me to repair my house after every flood season and to send my children to school.”
The center of smuggling between the two countries in Cambodia is Phum Ta Mau, which attracts many families in Chau Doc Town and people from many localities including Ho Chi Minh City.
Dozens of makeshift parking lots have been set up for people who journey across the border.
People who cross the border have to pay a fee of about VND50,000 ($3), although frequent smugglers are only charged VND5,000 each.
Smuggling doesn’t require capital or maturity, strength is enough. “It’s a real occupation,” said 23-year-old Tam, who has been transporting smuggled goods for 10 years. “We have big and beautiful houses thanks to Ta Mau.”
Gold and heroin smuggling doesn’t usually rely on porters carrying the goods on foot. If caught, these smugglers can be jailed or sentenced to death.
Local Tu said Cambodia’s gold was of low quality and thus “one tael is more than VND100,000 ($6) cheaper than in Vietnam.”
Some fruit vendors, after striking up acquaintances with border guards, will pretend to be selling fruit across the borders. They return to Vietnam with gold, often worn as jewelry, to make a profit of up to VND700,000 ($42) a day.
Other favorite hiding spots for gold smugglers are a secret compartment in a motorbike fuel tank or under a pile of scraps.
In Xuan Phu Hamlet, many of the ditches along Vinh Te Canal have been deepened and narrowed so the canals are just big enough for a motorboat.
Heroin can even be concealed in boat oars, which can be sunk if authorities descend.
In May last year, three Taiwanese, a Cambodian and two Vietnamese were caught in An Giang Province with 2.5 kilograms of heroin.
The gang was accused of trafficking drugs to Vietnam from Cambodia by road and from other Asian countries and Australia by air, according to the prosecutor’s indictment.
Under Vietnamese laws, trafficking more than 600 grams of heroin or 20 kilograms of opium is punishable by death.
In flooding season when it’s difficult to travel, smugglers try to carry as much as they can on each trip, often with up to 10 boats in a “caravan.”
“What else can I do? Sit and show my teeth for my children to count?” said a hired scout nicknamed Tiger.
Tiger prays every night they go out smuggling because if they succeed, he will receive VND150,000 ($9).
“But when police find the goods, we have no guts to ask for payment because the boss has already lost so much,” he said. “It will be a tiring day for nothing.”
Life and death occupation
Scout Long Be remembers one night three years ago like it was Wednesday.
“When the police found and chased after us, we ran our boat like crazy for an hour without knowing where we were going. When the police gave up the chase we found ourselves in a whirlpool.
“We woke up the next morning and realized we were in a wild land of Kien Giang Province [neighboring An Giang].
“Our boss’ boat was nowhere to be found. We shared some raw crabs. Some were so hungry they ate some leaves which made them vomit. We all expected to die.
“But a boat finally appeared late that afternoon when we were all exhausted. One old man called Nam had to be taken to hospital.”
The smugglers were also fleeing police last lunar New Year and could not “fulfill our responsibility of making offerings to our ancestors,” said Sau Cai, a longtime smuggler. “But that’s just our life, we can’t change it.”
Sau Ca has scars all over his arms and legs, after being swept away by the water many times. Police guns have been trained on his head at least 10 times.
Smuggling in the flooding season brings its own danger when the boats can get caught in whirlpools, which are so dangerous that sometimes even strong swimmers can drown, said Sau Ca.
“My brother and several others in his team were killed that way five years ago,” he said.
Another danger is boat accidents when “we fall asleep after staying up the whole night,” said Sau Ca.
When transporting the goods on foot, the carriers have to run as fast as they can when chased by border guards. Often their legs bleed after a chase.
After a close shave with authorities, smugglers often have to stay home for months “without knowing how to get by,” said local Sau.
Running from border guards can be risky, Sau said. A boy called Qua fell and broke his neck while fleeing and many motorbike smugglers are also killed during high-speed chases.
But all those things are expected. “The biggest danger lies across the border,” according to Sau Ca.
Once soldiers from Cambodia fired into a smuggling gang of around 20 people and then arrested the whole team, who had hidden behind trees, recalled Sau Ca.
“But then the soldiers recognized the smugglers and apologized, saying they had just started shooting because they were drunk,” he said.
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