South Koreans jailed for smuggling phones to Saigon

By VnExpress January 11, 2017 | 09:05 pm PT

The duo spent $8,500 buying used phones and hoped to make $600 reselling them in Vietnam.

A Ho Chi Minh City court sentenced two South Korean men to three years in jail each for smuggling used cell phones to Vietnam, on Wednesday.

Her Min Chul and Cho In Soo, both 37, were arrested at Tan Son Nhat Airport last April after customs officials found 96 used cell phones in their luggage, local media reported.

Police say the men spent around $8,500 buying the phones in South Korea and planned to resell them in Vietnam, hoping to profit up to $600. Among the phones are popular brands in Vietnam such as LG and Samsung.

Vietnamese customs laws allow tourists to bring one cell phone into the country. A second phone must be reported and is subject to taxes.

> Hanoi police seek charges against Japanese men for gold smuggling