10-10-2023 (HANOI) Two men and a woman have been apprehended for their involvement in smuggling hundreds of Apple iPhones into Vietnam, according to local media reports on Monday. The suspects, including an aircraft technician employed by a subsidiary of national carrier Vietnam Airlines, were discovered to have devised an intricate scheme to evade customs duties amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The police identified the arrested individuals as Le Van Ngoc, 43, Nguyen Anh Tuan, 33, and Ngoc’s wife, 29, who was charged as an accomplice in aiding the smuggling operation. Tuan was apprehended at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City after arriving from Thailand with 12 new iPhone 14 Pro Max devices that were not declared to customs officials.
Investigations uncovered a collaboration between Tuan and Ngoc, who worked as an aircraft maintenance technician at Vietnam Airlines Engineering Company. Over an undisclosed period, they managed to smuggle more than 600 similar phones with an estimated value of 20 billion dong (approximately S$1.12 million).
The modus operandi involved Ngoc informing Tuan of his work schedule at the airport, which Tuan used to book flights from Thailand to Vietnam. Upon arrival, Tuan would hand a batch of phones purchased in Thailand to Ngoc, who concealed them in his tool bag while performing his aircraft maintenance duties.
To avoid customs inspections, Ngoc would exit the airport through a domestic terminal and arrange for the smuggled phones to be delivered back to Tuan.
According to the police, the technician received 900,000 dong (around S$50) for each phone smuggled without paying import duties. In total, Ngoc and his wife earned approximately 500 million dong. Investigations, led by the Ho Chi Minh City police, are ongoing.
This incident follows a series of recent smuggling cases involving Apple smartphones in Vietnam. Less than a month ago, two individuals were arrested for smuggling iPhones into Vietnamese airports. A Thai man was found with 20 iPhone 15 Pro Max devices worth over 700 million dong in his carry-on luggage upon arrival at Da Nang airport, while a Vietnamese man was apprehended for bringing 22 iPhones purchased in Singapore, worth 900 million dong, without declaring them to customs officials at Ho Chi Minh City airport.
Although passengers arriving in Vietnam are allowed to carry a second phone for personal use, import duties may apply if the phone’s value exceeds 10 million dong (approximately S$560).
Apple iPhones are highly sought after in Vietnam, often facing a supply shortage relative to demand due to their high cost. According to official statistics, the average monthly income of a Vietnamese individual is around 7 million dong, meaning they would need to work full-time for over four months to afford an iPhone 15 Pro priced at 29 million dong.
The latest iPhone 15 models were launched in markets such as Singapore, the US, and Thailand on September 22, with official sales in Vietnam commencing a week later. Enterprising Vietnamese individuals flocked to Singapore and Thailand to purchase the phones, with some reportedly buying them in bulk for resale in their home country.
