The interceptions were a joint effort by Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs, part of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, and the Economic Police Division of Ho Chi Minh City Police.

The suspects in both cases were Indian nationals, initially suspected of smuggling the diamonds into Vietnam to sell to prominent diamond dealers in Ho Chi Minh City.

The first incident occurred at 6:30 p.m. on October 25, when Tan Son Nhat Customs and Economic Police, in cooperation with the Anti-Smuggling Control Division for the Southern Region (Division 3) of the General Department of Anti-Smuggling Investigation and Tan Binh District Police, detected and intercepted a large diamond smuggling attempt.

During routine luggage scanning, authorities identified suspicious images in the luggage of Mr. D.A.K., an Indian national arriving from Hong Kong. Upon further inspection, officials discovered 15 nylon bags containing 362 diamonds, concealed at the bottom of two candy containers, with real candy layered on top to disguise the contents.

Earlier, on the morning of October 23, at 9 a.m., the same coordinated teams detained Mr. P.S.H., also an Indian national, arriving from India with 716 diamonds.

The diamonds, stored in 10 nylon bags, were concealed in a wallet placed among clothing and personal belongings within P.S.H.’s luggage.

A thorough examination of the confiscated items confirmed both natural and synthetic diamonds, with an estimated value in the tens of billions of VND.

Both cases have been handed over to the Economic Police Division, Ho Chi Minh City Police, for further investigation.

Dam De