The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested six people for allegedly trying to smuggle 49 kilograms of gold bars worth about ?1,075 million from China by concealing them inside life-size dolls.
A 46-year-old Chinese company executive living in Kamagaya, Chiba Prefecture, Ryuji Hamazaki, a 38-year-old corporate employee living in Tokyo, and four other suspects were arrested on suspicion of trying to evade payment of ?107.5 million in consumption tax.
The six suspects allegedly tried to traffic the gold bars into Japan by air Jan. 6 by hiding them in three life-size dolls.
According to the MPD, the suspects declared the dolls as mannequins at customs and arranged for them to be delivered to an apartment in Tokyo¡¯s Arakawa Ward.
The police believe that the dolls were to be collected by Hamazaki and transported via another Chinese suspect to an office of the Chinese executive¡¯s company.
The six suspects are believed to have smuggled gold repeatedly using a similar trick and earned money by evading consumption tax payments.
Customs officers inspected the dolls and found gold bars hidden inside. The suspects were identified through subsequent investigations.
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