Cambodian couple detained for smuggling 400 grams of gold into Vietnam

Local authorities said on Friday that the couple had been detained for investigation into suspected gold smuggling.

The two were identified as Um Bora, 45, and his wife, Keo Thaty, 35, both residents of Cambodia's Prey Veng Province.

During a border inspection, officers at the Bung Ram Border Control Post stopped the couple, who were traveling on a motorbike, and discovered two pieces of gold-colored metal wrapped in a black plastic bag.

The couple told authorities they had purchased the gold in Phnom Penh nearly two years earlier for about US$40,000 and were bringing it into Vietnam to sell.

The two pieces weighed a combined 400 grams, equivalent to around 10.67 taels of gold.

Border guards detained the couple and sent the seized metal for testing as they continued investigating the suspected smuggling case.