On March 25, Customs Sub-department Region III said it had worked with relevant forces to uncover a case of illegal transport of goods suspected to be gold at the international arrivals terminal of Cat Bi International Airport in Hai Phong.

According to local customs, several passengers showed suspicious behaviour upon entry from the RoK. Checks later found a group of 20 people, including 18 Vietnamese and two South Korean nationals.

The group, comprising both men and women born between 1964 and 2005, were found wearing and concealing jewellery such as necklaces, chains and rings believed to be gold, with a total weight of nearly 7kg.

The Sub-department said it will step up enforcement measures from now until the end of the year to combat smuggling, trade fraud and illegal cross-border transport of goods.

Customs officers will coordinate with police and border guards to strengthen patrols in key areas, while tightening control over imports, exports, transshipment, temporary import for re-export and transit.

Controls on passengers and vehicles entering and leaving the country will also be reinforced, alongside monitoring developments to promptly detect and prevent violations.

Hanoi customs seize suspected gold smuggled by four passengers at Noi Bai airport

Vietnam Customs announced on March 4 that officers at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport have uncovered four inbound passengers from Taiwan (China) allegedly attempting to smuggle a total of 12.3 kg of yellow metal suspected to be gold into Vietnam.