As gold prices in Vietnam are higher than international prices, smugglers are trying every possible way to slip gold into Vietnam to seek profits.
Many gold smuggling cases across border gates have been discovered recently, especially those near Cambodia, Vietnamnet, a local media reported.
Most recently, on October 30, the An Giang Police discovered a group of men driving a motorboat from Cambodia heading for Vietnam. When they reached VInh Chanh 1 Hamlet in Chau Doc City, the men were seen carrying black bags ashore. When the police came to examine the bags, the men tried to run away.
The policemen captured Tran Van Hai, born in 1971 with two jute bags and one plastic bag with 51 kilograms of yellow metal inside, which was later confirmed by Institute of Forensic Sciences as 9999 gold. During the investigation, three subjects gave themselves up to the police.
Prior to that, also in An Giang, in March 2017, the customs agency at the Tinh Bien International Border Gate caught Vuoch Hea, born in 1957, Cambodian nationality, carried 8 kilograms of gold (212 taels) and 100 million Riel (Cambodian currency) to Vietnam.
The woman, entering Vietnam in on a motorbike, said she carried the gold and money to Vietnam to sell for profit.
In late 2016, Rim Ri Linh, Major, deputy head of the Cambodian Phnom Den Police Station, drove a car from Cambodia to Tinh Bien Border Gate in Vietnam, asking to enter Vietnam to visit a relative. The Vietnamese police discovered that Linh had carried 18 kilograms of 24K gold (478 taels), according to Vietnamnet.
By Hanh Nguyen
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Source: Vietnam Insider