Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam Customs announced on March 4 that officers at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport have uncovered four inbound passengers from Taiwan (China) allegedly attempting to smuggle a total of 12.3 kg of yellow metal suspected to be gold into Vietnam.
At about 9:40 on March 3 in the arrival area of Terminal T2, customs officers identified four passengers showing suspicious behaviour and failing to file required customs declarations.
Noi Bai airport customs, in coordination with Team 1 under Vietnam Customs’ Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department, airport border police, and Division 6 of the Hanoi Police Department’s Economic, Corruption, Smuggling and Environmental Crime Investigation Division (PC03), inspected the passengers and their luggage.
The inspection revealed that passenger P.T.H. had concealed 10 pieces of the metal, weighing about 5 kg, inside her bra and underwear. Passenger V.T.M. hid five pieces totalking roughly 1.1 kg beneath underwear. Passenger N.V.L. concealed nine pieces amounting to around 3.5 kg, while passenger C.S.M.H. hid seven pieces weighing some 2.7 kg under underwear and on the wrist.
Given signs of criminal conduct, all the four individuals, along with the seized items and related documentation, have been transferred to the PC03 for further investigation in accordance with the law.
In total, authorities confiscated 31 pieces of yellow metal with a combined weight of roughly 12.3 kg suspected to be gold bars.
The items are undergoing expert appraisal to confirm their composition as gold and determine their value. Further information will be released once the assessment is completed./.
