TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo police have prosecuted two male Korean nationals over the alleged smuggling of more than 300 kilograms of gold inside shipments arriving in Japan from Hong Kong, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Dec. 11).
Between the middle of May and the end of August, Ko Bong-sun, a 35-year-old company employee living in Taito Ward, and one other Korean national allegedly smuggled 363 gold plates, each weighing 1 kilogram, into Japan concealed inside batteries used for solar power equipment, according to the Tokyo branch of Japan Customs.
The gold, which has a retail value of 1.633 billion yen, was addressed to the office of Ko. The suspects evaded 129 million yen in taxes in the smuggling operation. After being smuggled into the country, the gold was sold to local dealers, the branch said.
Police began an investigation into the suspects after officials discovered 33 kilograms of gold inside 33 shipments from Hong Kong on August 22.
The suspects were sent to prosecutors on Monday and prosecuted the same day.