A 60-year-old Cambodian woman has been arrested and charged with smuggling eight kilograms of gold from her country into the southern province of An Giang.

The smuggled gold and foreign currency that Vuoch Hea was caught with in Viet Nam. 

Huỳnh Ngọc Hồ, head of the customs department at Tịnh Biên Border Gate, said the suspect has been identified as Vuoch Hea from Kirivong District in Cambodia’s Takeo Province.

On Saturday morning, Hea was driving her motorbike from Cambodia to Việt Nam and did not stop to complete her immigration paperwork. Following the tip-off, officials from the customs department stopped her motorbike and on searching found eight kilograms of gold and 100 million riel, which is around VNĐ8.5 billion or US$373,000.

She was detained, and the gold, currency, motorbike and two mobile phones were confiscated from her.

The accused has told officials that she had purchased the gold in a Cambodian market and had brought it to Việt Nam to sell.

The incident is being investigated. 

Cần Thơ Police seize smuggled tobacco

Police from the Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ on Sunday seized nearly 4,200 packages of cigarettes that were being transported from An Giang Province to the city for consumption.

A joint task force of criminal police, mobile police and road and railway transport police from Cần Thơ City stopped two coaches travelling from An Giang when the vehicles raised suspicions.

The team found nearly 2,200 smuggled packets of cigarettes, bearing Jet and Hero labels, on these coaches.

On the same day, police found another 2,000 packages concealed on two motorbikes travelling on the same route.

The case is under investigation. 

VNS