Vietnam police seize $1mn in gold smuggled from Hong Kong

January 14, 2015 | 14:09

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Vietnamese police on Tuesday said they had discovered a large gold smuggling case, arresting two people and seizing over 30 kilograms of gold jewelry worth US$1 million originating from Hong Kong.

Bui Thi Loan, 58, a woman hailing from the northern province of Quang Ninh, and Co Kien Son, a Hanoi man, also 58, were apprehended on Sunday for trading in banned goods, said Senior Lieutenant Colonel Thanh Kien Trung, deputy head of the social crime investigation police office under the Hanoi Police Department.

At 11:00 am that day, police detected Loan delivering numerous suspicious packages from a car to Son in the parking lot of the Metro supermarket on Pham Van Dong Street in Bac Tu Liem District, Sr. Lt. Col. Trung said.

Police went to the scene to inspect the car and found that the two were handling and receiving 33 packages of gold jewelry weighing 33.5 kg in total.

These packages contained more than 4,300 jewelry items made of 18-karat gold including necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and others, which were all smuggled from Hong Kong, police said.

The smuggled goods were brought into Vietnam through the Vietnam-China border crossing in Quang Ninh’s Mong Cai town for sale in Hanoi and other localities.

The total value of the goods is estimated at more than VND21 billion (roughly $1 million).

Police have seized the smuggled goods and are further investigating the case.

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