Four people have been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle about 8kg of gold worth around ¥98.7 million (approximately RM2.05 million) from Hong Kong to Japan by concealing gold powder in underwear, sources familiar with the matter revealed on Tuesday.
Masamori Nishimura, 34, is believed to have orchestrated the smuggling attempt by instructing three women in their 20s and 30s to wear underwear with concealed gold powder on a flight in July last year, the sources said.
The four admitted to the charges, with one of the women telling investigators she was recruited by Nishimura. The three women knew each other and joined the scheme in return for cash and travel expenses, according to the sources.
The women are believed to have received underwear with concealed gold from another man in Hong Kong under Nishimura’s instructions.
Gold smuggling cases have been soaring in Japan lately on the back of the rising price of the precious metal. The benchmark price of gold set by Tokyo’s Tanaka Precious Metal Technologies hit a record ¥23,370 per gramme on Tuesday amid uncertainty ahead of US-China trade talks.
The four suspects, arrested on Monday, are suspected of having conspired to smuggle gold granules in pouches aboard a flight bound for Tokyo’s Haneda airport to evade taxes of about ¥9.87 million in total.
The four were under police investigation after the case was handed to the Metropolitan Police Department by Tokyo Customs, according to the source.
