According to Japan Today, the gold bars were discovered concealed in the clothing of 10 Malaysians, none of whom had gone through the required customs declaration procedures.
The gold bars were said to be worth over 500 million yen (RM19 million). The report said customs officials are treating the issue as a suspected violation of the customs and consumption tax laws.
Gold smuggling has been on the rise since April 2014, when Japan’s consumption tax was hiked from 5% to 8%.
A woman who was arrested in early June for her involvement in gold smuggling reportedly told police that the activity was like “a part-time job”.
According to her, it was possible to get 10,000 yen for each kg of gold brought into Japan.