Hanoi, March 24 -- The Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance has issued a directive to regional customs offices to strengthen inspection and enforcement to combat illegal transport and cross-border smuggling of petrol and oil products in a bid to safeguard national energy security.

The move follows an official dispatch signed by Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son, head of the National Steering Committee for Anti-smuggling, Counterfeit Goods and Trade Fraud (National Steering Committee 389), which calls for intensified action against smuggling, trade fraud, and illegal trading of petroleum products in the context of volatile energy market.

Under the directive, customs units, particularly those operating at land border gates, ...