OSAKAMay 14 (News On Japan) – Osaka Customs announced on May 13 that it will sell about 100 kilograms of gold seized in smuggling cases through a public auction.
The gold, worth about 12.9 billion yen, was seized at Kansai Airport and other locations between 2020 and 2023.
The smuggled gold, originally in the form of accessories, has been processed into one-kilogram blocks for the auction. Proceeds from the sale will be deposited into the national treasury.
Smugglers avoid consumption taxes by not declaring the gold to customs when they enter the country. They then add the consumption tax to the price when they resell the gold, and profit from the difference.
According to Osaka Customs, the increase in penalties in 2018 temporarily reduced gold smuggling, but it has been on the rise again since last year. Customs authorities are intensifying their enforcement efforts.
Source: ANN
