HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Ministry of Defence have been urged to complete a system under which senior law enforcement officials will be rotated from their posts in border areas that have been classed as smuggling hotspots.

They will also be transferred if their subordinates are found guilty of corruption. The system is to be completed and reviewed by the Prime Minister before October 1 this year.

The plan aims to increase transparency in the fight against crime, said Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hoà Bình, who is also head of the National Crime Fighting Steering Committee (commonly known as Committee 389), at a meeting with law enforcement agencies on Friday in Hà Nội.

Bình pointed out that law enforcement agencies had numerous shortcomings, including a lack of planning for events such as large gatherings or what to do in volatile situations.

The agencies were told to step up their efforts to fight crime, especially organised crime, loan sharks, fraud, human trafficking and child abuse.

Other major issues include smuggling, counterfeit products and corruption which have hit the business environment and hampered the process of international integration.

The deputy PM noted that even fake medicine, liquor, cigarettes and fertilisers, which could have disastrous consequences, were on sale in broad daylight, notably the case of Vinaca, a company based in Hải Phòng, selling pills that it falsely claimed could treat cancer but were later revealed to be made of bamboo charcoal. Smuggling had shown no signs of slowing down, especially in northern and southwestern provinces.

Bình stressed the importance of including local communities in the fight against crime. He ordered local leaders to encourage citizens to support law enforcement agencies.

Bình made it clear that corruption among local leaders was a major obstacle in the country’s anti-crime efforts and that nobody was above the law should they be found to support criminal activities. Local leaders will also be held responsible and have disciplinary action taken against them for major criminal activities if they failed to detect and report them. — VNS