According to SCMP , through inspection, Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department discovered a large amount of gold bars in an air shipment to Japan, based on risk assessment and intelligence analysis. The incident took place last week.

This is the largest amount of smuggled gold ever seized by this agency. The gold was in a shipment awaiting air transport to Japan.

Inspector Daniel Chan Wing-yin said the shipment, declared as toys and hats, along with other items, consisted of 124 packages.

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The amount of gold seized by authorities. Photo: SCMP

"During the analysis of the X-ray images, the inspector found that four packages had an unusually high density, inconsistent with the declared content," he said.

They also discovered each package weighed 17kg, exceeding the declared individual weight of 1.1kg.

Upon closer inspection of the packages, each contained a large box and two small boxes. The large box contained electronics, the small box was used to hide gold.

A total of 64 gold bars, weighing 64 kilograms, were seized. At current gold prices, the gold is worth HK$46 million (US$5.9 million).

Authorities are verifying the origin of the gold and the identities of those involved.

The rising demand for gold bullion amid the ongoing trade tensions has fueled an increase in gold smuggling. Behind that lies the story of the Chinese economy 's "preference" for gold.

According to China Daily , data from the China Gold Association shows that China's domestic gold output will exceed 377.24 tons in 2024, up 2.087 tons from 2023, equivalent to a year-on-year increase of 0.56%.

However, in 2024, gold consumption in the country fell to 985.31 tons, down 9.58% from the previous year. Of which, gold jewelry consumption fell nearly 24.7% to more than 532 tons, while demand for gold bars and coins increased 24.54% to 373.13 tons. Gold use for industrial and other purposes decreased slightly by 4.12%, reaching a total of 80.16 tons.

China has been the world's largest gold consumer for more than 10 consecutive years. It has also been the world's largest gold producer for 15 consecutive years.

China also continued to buy another 5 tons of gold. This is the third month China has increased its gold reserves after a 6-month pause.

Gold currently accounts for 6% of China’s total foreign exchange reserves, a figure that experts say is still low if China wants to compete with the US dollar as a global reserve currency.

China's gold rush is set to continue amid rising global tensions, economic uncertainty and continued efforts to move away from the US dollar, analysts at Capital Economics said.

In the long term, experts say China’s demand for gold will increase as its economy slows this decade. That will put upward pressure on gold prices and cause greater volatility in the gold market in the coming years.

Source: https://archive.vietnam.vn/phia-sau-vu-phat-hien-64kg-vang-lau-giau-trong-do-choi-tai-san-bay/