2 Japanese charged in Vietnam for gold smuggling

• Hanoi police seek charges against Japanese men for gold smuggling

The prosecutor’s office in Hanoi has officially ratified charges against two Japanese citizens for attempting to bring $260,000 worth of gold out of Vietnam.

Kitada Takayoshi, 46, was caught on August 3 last year at Noi Bai International Airport while allegedly trying to bring seven gold statuettes out of Vietnam on a flight to Tokyo. His accomplice, 34-year-old Iwamura Masakazu, was also arrested the same month.

The two men arrived in Vietnam in July 2016 and bought seven gold statuettes worth $260,000 in the northern province of Bac Ninh, near Hanoi. They covered the statuettes with silver to avoid getting caught.

Masakazu told police they had hoped to make a profit of around $2,500 by selling the gold in Japan's Fukushima Prefecture, according to a report from Tuoi Tre newspaper on Wednesday.

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> Hanoi police seek charges against Japanese men for gold smuggling