42 iPhones 15 smuggled from Thailand, Singapore seized at Vietnam airports

Officials at Da Nang International Airport in central Vietnam on Monday found a Thai man arriving from Bangkok with "suspicious signs."

They checked his carry-on luggage and found 20 iPhone 15 Pro Max phones with boxes and accessories hidden inside which were estimated to be worth VND700 million (US$28,676).

He had failed to make customs declaration for the phones and could not show necessary papers to prove their origin.

Passengers arriving in Vietnam are allowed to freely carry a second mobile phone if it is for personal use. The second phone is still subject to duties if its value exceeds VND10 million ($430).

Customs officials have handed the Thai man over to police for further investigation.

Also on Monday police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested Vietnamese man Tran Nhat Son for allegedly smuggling 22 iPhones 15 that he had bought for a total of VND900 million in Singapore.

Tran Nhat Son is held at a police station in HCMC for smuggling 22 iPhones 15 from Singapore. Photo by VnExpress/Nhat Vy

He was stopped by customs officers upon landing at Tan Son Nhat Airport with the phones three days earlier.

He admitted to the police he bought the phones in Singapore to resell in Vietnam for profits.

Apple officially launched iPhone 15 version on September 22, with sales started first at some markets such as the U.S., Singapore and Thailand. The phones will be officially available in Vietnam on September 29.

Throngs of Vietnamese people flocked to Singapore and Thailand last week and queued for hours to buy the new iPhone.

The iPhone 15 is made of titanium and not aluminum and steel like previous models. It also has a USB-C connection instead of a traditional Lightning port.