27kg gold seized from North Korean diplomat at airport

In a rare instance, a North Korean diplomat has been caught with 27kg gold worth about Tk 14 core at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

Customs officials said the smuggling of gold, mainly from Dubai, has increased in recent months, but this was the first instance of a diplomat being held in such scam.

According to customs and airport security authorities, First Secretary (Commercial and Economic Affairs) Son Young Nam was detained after he landed on a Singapore Airlines flight around 11:00pm Thursday. The gold he was carrying in his handbag was confiscated.

The diplomat was released the next day at 2:00pm under the Vienna Convention after he and his embassy officials gave a written confessional statement.

Young Nam admitted in the statement that he had abused his diplomatic privileges.

Foreign ministry officials said Article 29 of Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations states that “diplomats must not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. They are immune from civil or criminal prosecution.”

But, they said, the government will take action against the North Korean first secretary as a serious crime like gold smuggling cannot be covered by diplomatic immunity.

“This is not at all a diplomatic or professional activity … it [smuggling] is beyond the diplomat's official functions,” said a senior official at the ministry.

Joint Commissioner of Customs Kazi Md Ziauddin said that top customs and security officials were on alert as they had information about a foreign diplomat smuggling gold.

After the plane landed, the diplomat was tracked down.

“We started following him as soon as he came out form the aircraft. We stopped him as he tried to go out of the airport through the green channel,” he said.

According to another customs official, the diplomat when requested to allow scanning of his handbag he shouted: “I am a diplomat and you can not touch my bag.”

The official said, “We requested him to allow scanning the luggage because we had specific information.”

But the diplomat claimed there was no illegal item in his bag and he was carrying an electric device for the use of the embassy.

The customs and police officials brought the matter into the notice of the foreign ministry, which suggested carrying out the search if anything was suspicious.

The bag was opened in front of four North Korean embassy officials who came to receive Young Nam, customs authorities said.

Joint Commissioner Ziauddin told reporters, “Of the recovered gold, 19 kg was in the form of bars and the rest in jewelries.”

Contacted, Md Nojibur Rahman, chairman of National Board of Review, said this was a sort of crime which posed a serious threat to the national security and economy.

“We want the trial [for the smuggling] to take place under our local laws,” he said.

Talking to The Daily Star, senior foreign ministry officials said smuggling of gold cannot be misinterpreted as a diplomatic privilege because it clearly is an abuse of a diplomat's inviolability and immunity.

Pyongyang will be informed soon and then further step will be taken.

Asked what could be the next step of the government, they said the host nation at any time and for any reason can declare a diplomatic staff persona non grata.

After the declaration, the state concerned must recall the person within a reasonable period of time. Otherwise, s/he might lose their diplomatic immunity.