Smugglers storm Vietnam-Laos border

Six Vietnamese customs officers have been badly injured in a clash with hundreds of smugglers, who forced through a convoy of contraband goods from neighbouring Laos.

A state-run Vietnamese newspaper Nhan Dan said the incident happened at a major border crossing in the mountains of the northern province of Ha Tinh.

The newspaper said the customs officers had been tipped off by the Lao authorities about the convoy of 50 trucks, but were overwhelmed by several hundred people, who attacked them with knives, sticks and stones.

The BBC Hanoi correspondent says illegal smuggling of cigarettes, drugs and consumer goods is a serious problem for the Vietnamese authorities, who are worried about the effect on tax revenues and legitimate businesses.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service