The Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department said January 28 its officers caught a Vietnamese man at Tan Son Nhat International Airport with hundreds of diamonds worth almost US$400,000.
They found the stones in a handbag carried by Luu Chi Hung who had arrived on flight UA869 from Hong Kong together with 10 bracelets, two necklaces and a pair of earrings made of gold.
After valuing them, the department said the diamonds are worth VND7.17 billion ($377,368) and the gold jewels, VND175 million.
Hung had tried to bring in the diamonds and jewelry without a license or declaration.
On the same day airport customs officials also caught Nguyen Thi Kim Thoa trying to leave for Pudong in Shanghai with 14,800 EUR ($20,718) she had failed to declare.
