VietNamNet Bridge – To make illicit profits, the owner of the Gucci – Milano shop in Ho Chi Minh City directed his staff to turn Gucci brand products into Chinese goods to evade import tax.
Confiscation of smuggled goods at Gucci-Milano Hanoi shop
On April 3, HCM City police arrested Le Hong Duc, 35, in District 1, HCM City, an employee of the Gucci-Milano shop at his home to investigate the behavior of smuggling.
Related to this case, the police are also hunting Tran Anh Tuan, the boss of Gucci-Milano store, who has fled, to investigate the acts of smuggling.
According to the initial investigation, on November 27, 2012, HCM City police arrested four trucks transporting products with Gucci and D G brands in the basement of the Sheraton Hotel, at 88 Dong Khoi Street, District 1.
Le Hong Duc was defined as the one who escorted the four trucks. Working with the police, this man provided a number of documents which prove that this batch of goods belongs to the Nam De Trade and Services Co., Ltd. The exporting firm is located in Guangdong, China. The shipment started from Hong Kong.
According to the documents, the batch consists of more than 1,000 fashion products (clothes, belt, scarfs, shoes and bags) of Chinese origin, worth $3,700 and the tax is only VND26.7 million ($1,300).
The police asked for the help of Italian experts to identify the origin of the shipment. The experts affirmed that these are true Gucci and D G branded products, worth over VND100 billion ($5 million).
In January 2013, the investigating agency prosecuted the case. After collecting sufficient evidence, they arrested Le Hong Duc. Duc claimed that he involved in the smuggling process under the direction of his boss, Tran Anh Tuan.
Dam De