Smuggling 1 Ton Of Gold, 2 Japanese Men Arrested

JAKARTA - Two men were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of smuggling around 1 ton of gold worth 10.8 billion yen (Rp1.15 trillion) from South Korea to Japan.

The action was carried out to avoid consumption taxes and reap profits in Japan's gold market, Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted police as saying.

Jin Tateno (53), a resident of Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, and Jun Sakurai (45), the company's executive from Ichikawa in the same prefecture, is believed to have traveled about 200 times to South Korea (South Korea) in 2023 2024 to smuggle gold and sell it in Japan in about 150 transactions.

Reported by ANTARA, the two were arrested last Wednesday. Tateno is suspected of smuggling about 4 kilograms (kg) of gold through Tokyo's Haneda Airport on August 21, 2024, and avoiding a consumption tax of 4.68 million yen or nearly IDR 500 billion.

Meanwhile, Sakurai allegedly tried to avoid 10 million yen of consumption tax by smuggling about 9 kg of gold the following day, which customs officers found.

To investigators, Tateno said he had no intention of smuggling, while Sakurai admitted that Tateno had asked him to carry out the action, according to police.

The case was revealed after a bag containing gold was found and handed over to the airport manager. Tateno then went to the airport police station and admitted that he had lost his gold.

Gold smuggling has risen sharply in Japan in recent years amid growing demand for hedging assets due to global uncertainty, according to Kyodo reports.