A customs officer examines the goods which are allegedly smuggled pharmaceutical materials at Tiên Sa Port in the central city of Đà Nẵng. — VNA/VNS Photo

ĐÀ NẴNG — Customs officers in the central city of Đà Nẵng on Monday found tonnes of pharmaceutical materials which were allegedly smuggled from China to Việt Nam via the city's Tiên Sa Port.

The pharmaceutical materials were found in five containers which a company based in the northern province of Hải Dương reported to the customs agency as containing dried apples, carrots, cashews and radish.

The company – Ngọc Sơn Commercial, Import and Export Company – submitted a customs declaration on June 14 to import fruits and vegetable weighing 103 tonnes from China’s Huangpu Port.

However, when customs officers examined the containers, most of the imported products were dried herbal medicines which are suspected of being pharmaceutical materials.

According to customs authorities, pharmaceutical materials are among goods that must undergo strict procedures before being eligible to enter the country, thus, many companies falsified documents to smuggle the goods. — VNS