Bangladesh seizes 27kg of gold from North Korean diplomat

Bangladeshi customs authorities seized nearly 27 kilograms of gold, worth about $1.7 million, from a North Korean diplomat on Friday after he tried to smuggle in the bullion using diplomatic immunity.

Armed police and customs officials at Dhaka airport challenged Son Young Nam, the first secretary of the North Korean embassy in the city, on Thursday night after he arrived on a flight from Singapore.

"He insisted that his bags cannot be scanned because he's carrying a red passport and he enjoys diplomatic immunity," Moinul Khan, head of Bangladesh's customs intelligence department, told AFP.

Khan said the diplomat was told that gold weighing more than two kilograms could not be carried in.

"After more than four hours of drama, he gave in and we found gold bars and gold ornaments weighing 26.795 kilograms (59.1 pounds), which is worth 130 million taka ($1.67 million), from his hand-bag," he added.

The diplomat who was accompanied by the North Korean ambassador to Dhaka on his flight from Singapore, was "released under the Vienna Convention but the gold was confiscated," Khan added.

Bangladeshi customs authorities are set to prosecute the diplomat under the country's harsh anti-smuggling laws after they get the go-ahead from the foreign ministry and the North Korean authorities are informed.

"It's a clear case of smuggling. We believe he would have sold the gold to a local criminal racket. He is being used as a carrier," Khan said, adding that if convicted he could face a maximum life term in prison.

The gold seizure came after local customs authorities recently said Bangladesh's two international airports have seen a big rise in illegal gold movement, with smugglers frequently caught red-handed.

Official figures showed the customs intelligence teams have seized nearly one tonne of the precious metal in the past 22 months, compared with just 15 kilograms captured over the previous five-year period.

The gold is mostly smuggled in from Gulf nations and then sent to India through the country's porous 4,000 kilometre (2,500 miles) land border.

Smuggling is thought to have increased largely due to India's imposition of strict import duties on gold.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/bangladesh-seizes-27kg-gold-north-korean-diplomat-142152724.html

13 Apr 2015
Oral Reply to Parliamentary Question on transport of gold and precious metals
​

Question:

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs –

(a) what is the weight limit on the transport of gold and other precious metals in and out of Singapore by individual travellers;

(b) whether diplomats are exempt from this limit, if any;

(c) whether the Police is aware of a diplomat carrying up to 27 kg of gold bars in his luggage on a flight out of Changi Airport in March 2015; and

(d) what measures are in place to ensure that diplomats do not abuse their diplomatic immunity to carry precious metals, drugs or weapons in and out of Singapore in their luggage.

​Oral reply by Mr S. Iswaran, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Trade and Industry​​​

There is no weight limit on the amount of gold and other precious metals that can be transported in and out of Singapore by travellers. In line with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, our measures and controls are focused on the point of sale of such items in Singapore.

2. All precious stones and metal dealers (PSMDs) are required to conduct customer due diligence and file a Cash Transaction Report (CTR) with the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office when they sell any precious stone, precious metal or precious product to a customer in cash exceeding SGD20,000. This is supplemented by the general suspicious transaction reporting (STR) regime, which requires all persons in Singapore to report any knowledge or reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct which comes to their attention in the course of business or employment.

3. Police is aware of media reports of a case last month where a person allegedly attempted to import gold into another country without making the proper customs declarations, after arriving on a flight originating from Singapore. Police records indicate that the person, who is a foreign diplomat, but not accredited to Singapore, did depart on a flight from Changi Airport where he was screened before boarding and no security threat items were found on him.

4. All diplomats, like other travellers, are screened for threat items before they are allowed on board an aircraft. This involves the use of metal detectors for person checks, and x-ray screening for their belongings. Although the personal baggage of diplomats are generally exempted from inspection under the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR), a diplomat's personal baggage will be inspected if there are serious grounds for believing that he is carrying prohibited or controlled items, such as weapons and drugs.


http://www.mha.gov.sg/Newsroom/spee...on-transport-of-gold-and-precious-metals.aspx

"i am transiting via sinkapore like this. can or not?"

Boomtown Charlie for the Bangla inmates, they will soon get N Korean ass bulgogi on the menu.

Oral reply by Mr S. Iswaran, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Trade and Industry​​​

There is no weight limit on the amount of gold and other precious metals that can be transported in and out of Singapore by travellers. In line with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, our measures and controls are focused on the point of sale of such items in Singapore.

This fucking snakeskin apuneh with the forked tongue get paid multimillion $ salary as minister, and this is the best lie he can come up with? By his logic if I sell $10 million worth of cocaine in Thailand and then ship the money to singapore to launder, I have committed no crime because the sale did not happen in singapore? WTF? My money will not be confiscated? No wonder we are the money laundering centre for asia. How does he know that the North Korean diplomat's gold was not bought in singapore? If the NK was doing illegal activities in singapore and obtained the gold bullion to sell in Bangladesh, did he pay GST on the gold? If not, its a crime and definitely relevant to singaporean authorities. He never even investigated and shoot his mouth off. This kind of fucker is so immoral and unethical, no wonder he can help crooked politicians like thaksin cheat their own govt when he was with Temasick.

Is he also saying that 59 lbs of metal when through the security at Changi airport in the NK diplomat's luggage without triggering a security alert? Like that it will be super easy to smuggle a bomb on board any flight from Changi International. why don;t he just admit that some higher ups have already had their palms greased and allowed this NK guy to bring his gold on the flight with no opening of the luggage and no checks whatsoever.

Since most countries in the world have sanctions and trade embargos with north Korea,the only way north Korea can continue their activities and support their regime is by arms smuggling or illegal trading of precious metals and their country's resources.

[video=youtube;jEJqEuM5V68]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEJqEuM5V68[/video]

Kim Jong-un will be jin tu lan