2 Japanese charged in Vietnam for gold smuggling

By Mai Chi February 8, 2017 | 04:28 am PT

Passengers check-in for flights at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi. Photo by AFP

They had hoped to make a killing by bringing seven gold statuettes worth $260,000 out of Vietnam.

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.