Hanoi authorities have discovered a large-scale gas refilling operation.
According to information from the Hanoi Market Management Department (the Standing Agency of the Hanoi 389 Steering Committee), Team No. 7 of the Market Management Department recently discovered and dealt with a facility engaging in illegal gas refilling.
Accordingly, the implementation of Plan No. 08/KH-QLTTHN dated March 1, 2024, of the Hanoi City Market Management Department and Plan No. 03/KH-Đ7 dated March 1, 2024, of Market Management Team No. 7 on the work of combating and preventing counterfeit goods, goods of unknown origin and goods infringing intellectual property rights in Thanh Tri district in 2024.
At 10:00 AM on August 2nd, 2024, Market Management Team No. 7, in coordination with the Economic and Official Crime Investigation Police Team (Thanh Tri District Police), conducted a search of the warehouse belonging to Ms. TTV (Man Di Brick Kiln Area, Village 1, Dong My Commune, Thanh Tri District, Hanoi City) containing seized goods including various types of LPG gas cylinders and equipment used for transferring liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Following the inspection, Market Management Team No. 7 and the coordinating agency temporarily seized two trucks containing gas and equipment used for transferring gas, including:
A white truck with license plate 22C-026xx, weighing 2.325 tons, has a metal tank on its cargo bed containing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (capacity unknown). This tank is directly connected to three LPG filling machines; each machine is connected to a 12kg LPG cylinder and is in the process of filling the cylinder with LPG.
The blue truck, bearing license plate 29H-065xx, has a payload capacity of 2.4 tons. The truck bed contains 65 LPG cylinders that have already been filled with LPG gas; the valves of these LPG cylinders lack shrink wrap seals.
Additionally, there were 553 LPG cylinders (of various brands) of 12kg capacity (used to contain LPG gas) and 12kg of new, unused nylon shrink wrap bearing the brands: VAN LOC GAS and VENUS PETROL GAS, stored in the warehouse area; and 3 memory cards installed in the 3 cameras, including: 1 x 64GB memory card, brand: HIKSEMI YAH06S0112SZ HS2344064G C; 2 x 32GB memory cards, brand: Kingston KN003842067.
At the time of the inspection, Ms. V had not presented any documents or invoices related to her gas refilling activities.
The inspection team from Market Management Team No. 7 and the coordinating forces determined that the incident showed signs of "illegally transferring, bottling, and filling LPG from gas storage tanks into LPG cylinders".
The inspection team from Market Management Team No. 7 and the coordinating forces have temporarily seized all the goods, evidence, and vehicles to verify and clarify the case and handle it according to the law.
Reportedly, this is not the first time authorities in Thanh Tri district have discovered and dealt with illegal gas bottling operations. In April 2023, a similar operation was also discovered in Dai Ang village, Dai Ang commune. At that time, authorities found two trucks, a gas pipeline system, and five gas bottling machines connected to a large gas storage tank.
The dangers of illegally seizing and refilling gas cylinders.
In an interview with the Lao Dong newspaper, the leader of a gas company stated that the danger from illegally seizing gas cylinders stems from gas companies using "tricks" to seize empty cylinders. They then cut off the band and base, sand down the embossed lettering on the cylinder, apply a new coat of paint, and affix their own brand label, thus turning a competitor's property into their own.
Once the "ear cutting and shell grinding" process has been carried out, the quality of the bottle will certainly not be guaranteed, easily leading to accidents during use. With careful observation, consumers can distinguish between genuine and counterfeit bottles with the naked eye.
According to legal regulations, gas is one of the conditional business sectors, as it is an essential fuel product requiring very high safety standards. To operate in the gas filling industry, filling stations must comply with numerous conditions regarding fire prevention and control, pressure equipment safety, etc., as approved by competent state agencies.
Gas filling operations are primarily carried out at the main storage facilities of businesses under strict supervision, using supporting equipment and a team of staff trained in the technical skills required in this field.
However, in recent times, due to illicit profits, illegal gas refilling facilities have proliferated. Naturally, these facilities are not inspected or licensed, and therefore do not meet safety standards.
"Illegal gas refilling activities not only violate the law but also pose a high risk of fire and explosion, threatening the safety of people and the surrounding environment. Especially when the refilling is carried out in makeshift locations that do not meet technical safety standards, the risk of accidents is very high," a representative from the Thanh Tri District Police shared.
In fact, in March 2024, a fire broke out in a makeshift shack in Do Ha village, Khanh Ha commune, Thuong Tin district, Hanoi, resulting in three casualties. Investigations revealed that this shack was being used for illegal gas refilling.
In the coming period, units under the Steering Committee 389 of Hanoi City will continue to fight against, promptly detect, and strictly handle illegal gas refilling activities.
Source: https://laodong.vn/kinh-doanh/hiem-hoa-tu-hanh-vi-sang-chiet-gas-trai-phep-1376626.ldo
