Tons of Medicinal Herbs with Unclear Origins Seized in Northern Vietnam

Police and the Market Watch Department in Vietnam’s northern province of Hung Yen on May 4 confiscated 9.7 tons of medicinal herbs without certificate of origin used to make Chinese traditional medicine. The herbs were stored in sacks and cartons with Chinese titles on their covers. The owner of the cartons Nguyen Thi Tham failed to provide legal documents to prove the origin of the goods, saying that she bought the herbs from two women whose address she did not know. According to the local inhabitants, Tham, a trader in Ho Chi Minh City, usually buys herbs smuggled from China and sells them to traditional medicine stores in her hometown in Hung Yen province. The herbs are being kept by the police for further investigation. According to authorized agencies, smuggling low quality medicinal herbs to make Chinese traditional medicine between Vietnam and China border has increased recently. Traders smuggle medicinal herbs with unclear origins from China to Hanoi and southern provinces for consumption. Those who consume medication made from these smuggled ingredients could face health risks, the agencies warned. (Vietnam News May 5)