The Hanoi People’s Procuracy has officially indicted Lou Jiaqi (born 2000, Chinese national) for the crime of illegally transporting goods and currency across borders. The case is being transferred to the Hanoi People’s Court for trial.

At approximately 9:30 AM on April 10, 2025, at Customs Gate A1 - Counter 3 of Noi Bai International Airport, Task Force Team 6 of the Hanoi Economic Police, in coordination with Customs officers, conducted a routine metal detector scan on passenger Lou Jiaqi arriving on flight UO 550 from Hong Kong (China).

Authorities discovered that Lou Jiaqi had concealed one piece of precious metal, suspected to be gold, in her pants pocket. It had a small hole and was threaded with black cord. A second similar gold-like item was found hanging from her neck.

Lou Jiaqi failed to declare these items with customs as required when entering Vietnam. Officials thoroughly inspected her luggage, seized all the suspicious items, and escorted her to the police station for further investigation.

At the police station, Lou Jiaqi confessed that the two metal pieces were gold jewelry. She admitted to transporting the items from Hong Kong to Vietnam for a fee.

A forensic examination later confirmed that both items were indeed gold, each with a purity of 99.999%. The combined value exceeded VND 2.6 billion (approximately USD 102,000).

According to the indictment, Lou Jiaqi met a friend named Zhang Mei (also Chinese) in 2018. By March 2025, Lou was a stay-at-home mother with no income. When Zhang Mei introduced a “simple money-making opportunity,” Lou agreed.

Zhang Mei then connected her via WeChat with a man named Da Bao, who offered her a job smuggling gold jewelry from Hong Kong to Vietnam for a fee of 1,500 yuan (approximately VND 5.3 million or USD 208).

Lou accepted the task, and on April 8, 2025, she purchased a plane ticket from Hong Kong to Vietnam, accompanied by a former classmate.

At 5:00 AM on April 10, 2025, on the way to the Hong Kong airport, Lou met Da Bao, who handed her the gold items for transport. When Lou asked questions, she was told, “These are high-value items. Keep them safe and don’t ask too much. After you exit the airport and clear all security checks, someone will meet you.”

During questioning, Lou admitted to committing the offense. She explained that financial hardship led her to accept the job of smuggling gold jewelry into Vietnam in exchange for payment.

According to her testimony, Lou did not know who the recipient in Vietnam was. She had been instructed that the person waiting for her would recognize her based on a pre-shared photo and would approach her once she exited the airport.

Prosecutors argue that although Lou was fully aware that smuggling precious metals into Vietnam without customs declaration is illegal, she still chose to commit the crime out of financial greed.

T. Nhung