Tokyo police have arrested two men on suspicion of smuggling gold into Japan from South Korea, a scheme that allegedly moved around 1 ton of gold and generated nearly ¥1 billion ($6.4 million) in profit.
Police said they have detained Jin Tateno, 53, from the city of Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, and Jun Sakurai, 45, a company executive from the city of Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. Tateno has denied the charges, saying he “did not intend to smuggle,” while Sakurai has admitted to them.
The two are suspected of collecting gold bars in South Korea, Tokyo police said, and selling them in Japan without declaring them at customs or paying the consumption tax, then taking the proceeds back to South Korea.
Investigators believe the pair traveled 216 times between South Korea and Japan from 2023 to 2024, smuggling roughly a total of 1 ton of gold worth about ¥10.8 billion. Police allege that they then sold the gold to a cash-for-gold shop in Tokyo, netting an estimated ¥980 million in profit.
Tateno is accused of carrying four gold bars worth about ¥46 million in a pouch on Aug. 21 last year when arriving at Haneda Airport from South Korea and not paying the consumption tax on them. The case came to light after he reportedly lost the pouch and it was handed over to airport staff as a found item.
The following day, Sakurai was stopped by customs officers at Haneda with nine gold bars worth about ¥104.5 million found in his bag.
Export documents the pair submitted when leaving South Korea in August last year listed the same gold buyer, leading investigators to suspect that accomplices in South Korea were involved.
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