A North Korean diplomat was caught trying to smuggle an estimated $1.4 million in gold into Bangladesh. The diplomat had 170 gold bars packed into his carry-on baggage.
Reuters reported:
Bangladesh’s customs officers caught a North Korean diplomat trying to smuggle an estimated $1.4 million worth of gold into the country, a senior official said on Friday.
“We recovered the gold both in the form of bar and ornaments from Son Young Nam, the First Secretary of the North Korean Embassy in Dhaka,” said Moinul Khan, the Director General of the Custom Intelligence department, adding the gold weighed about 27 kilograms in total.
The diplomat was released but Bangladesh is seeking to press charges.
Moinul told Reuters that the diplomat was passing through the green channel from Dhaka’s international airport – Hazrat Shahjalal International airport – on a late arriving Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore.
The customs officials at the airport wanted to scan his hand luggage.
“He told our officials that there was nothing to scan,” said Najibur Rahman, chairman of the National Board of Revenue.
“Later we informed our foreign ministry and he was released on Friday under the Vienna Convention,” Najibur told Reuters.
A case has been filed against him with the customs department, Moinul said. “We have also initiated the process to file a criminal case against him.”
Hat Tip Santosh Mishra