The An Giang Border Guard Command said on May 8 that officers were coordinating with relevant agencies to expand an investigation into the illegal cross-border transport of precious metals.
The suspect was identified as Nguyen Van Khanh, 22, from Khanh Binh Commune in An Giang Province.
Suspect Nguyen Van Khanh (Photo: Tien Vinh).
At around 1.25 pm on May 7, after a period of surveillance, authorities moved in and arrested Khanh while he was allegedly transporting smuggled goods near the Hau River bank in Khanh Binh Commune.
Officers discovered a yellow metal bar hidden on his body measuring 11cm in length, 4.5cm in width and about 7mm thick.
During questioning, Khanh admitted the metal bar was nearly 1kg of 24K gold.
He told investigators that a Cambodian man identified as Koem Seng had contacted him through the messaging app Zalo to hire him to transport goods.
For a payment of VND 700,000 (approximately USD 27), Khanh allegedly travelled by small motorboat across the river into Cambodia before borrowing a motorbike to collect the gold near Bridge 72 from the man who hired him.
The suspect and all seized evidence were transferred to the Long Binh Border Gate Border Guard Station for further investigation and legal proceedings.