It was a tense day at Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado on September 4. Two Chinese nationals had their carry-on bags flagged during the X-ray security check, and inside the luggage were 16 gold bars weighing a total of 16 kilograms. They were planning to fly to Hong Kong via a transit in Singapore.
Local police had already caught wind of the operation and were waiting at the airport. The two suspects, identified by the initials XQI and XQU, had their boarding passes and passports seized, along with 5 million rupiah in cash and five mobile phones they were carrying. Under questioning, they admitted they were hired by someone referred to as "H" to transport the gold. However, they could not produce any legal documentation for the shipment, and authorities suspect the gold came from illegal mining operations.
Amid the usual hustle and bustle of everyday traffic, nobody expected anyone would dare to stuff that much weight into a suitcase. Customs and police are now tracing the origins of the gold and trying to track down who else is pulling the strings behind the scenes. For these two, there's no way out of this one.
