Vietnam Airlines suspends attendants for smuggling gold

Nov 13, 2009, 4:56 GMT

   Hanoi - Vietnam Airlines has suspended three flight attendants after they were seized by South Korean customs authorities while trying to smuggle undeclared gold jewellery out of the country, a company spokesman said Friday.

   Vietnam Airlines spokesman Le Hoang Dung told the German Press Agency dpa the company had not yet received the customs authorities' report, but had suspended the flight attendants while waiting for clarification.

   The state-run newspaper Thanh Nien reported authorities at Incheon-Seoul international airport detained three flight attendants Thursday after finding gold jewelry weighing 24 ounces (746 grams) worth some 30,000 dollars in Vietnam in their luggage.

   The attendants were allowed to return to Vietnam Friday.

   The price of gold in Vietnam has risen much higher than the world price recently because of foreign currency trading restrictions and a ban on importing gold, which was lifted on Wednesday.

   Dung said Vietnam Airlines would punish the flight attendants harshly if they were found guilty. He said the airline had issued a direct order to employees Wednesday not to engage in smuggling after gold prices rose sharply.

   The US dollar and gold prices began rising quickly in Vietnam on Monday.

   The price of gold peaked at 1,639 dollars per Vietnam tael (37.5 grams) on Wednesday, but fell to 1,515 dollars per tael Thursday after the State Bank lifted a ban on gold imports in a bid to end a huge run-up in prices. The ban had been effective since May 2008 to limit the country's trade deficit.

   As of 11 am (0400 GMT) on Friday, the gold price stood at 1,515 dollars per tael, compared with the world price of 1,105 dollars per troy ounce (31.1 grams), or 1,329 dollars per tael.