Customs officers discover 4 million rubles worth of gold sand in cigarette packs and wallets of Chinese citizens.

Customs officers in Khabarovsk discovered nearly half a kilogram of gold sand worth 3.8 million rubles in the hand luggage of Chinese citizens. The foreigners were heading to Tuntszyan via the Nizhneleninskoye checkpoint. During the scanning of the passengers’ hand luggage, customs officers found packages containing yellow-gray metallic sand hidden in cigarette packs and wallets. The examination confirmed that it was gold weighing a total of 483.5 grams. The violators were detained and it was established that they worked as drivers in a gold mining company and were exporting the precious metal to be pawned in their home country. The criminals intentionally concealed the gold from customs control, knowing the requirement to declare it. Two criminal cases have been initiated under Article 226.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (smuggling of strategically important goods). Currently, the foreigners are in custody and face a fine of up to one million rubles or imprisonment for up to five years.