TAIPEI: Taoyuan airport police said they intercepted a Hong Kong man who was attempting to smuggle NT$12.47 million (US$372,839.8) from Taiwan to Hong Kong on Sunday.
The man, surnamed Ning (寧), is the second cash smuggler caught at the airport in three days.
Taiwan law states that passengers may not take over NT$100,000 in cash out of Taiwan, and it sets penalties for departing passengers who fail to declare foreign currency valued at more than US$10,000.
Ning told airport police on Sunday that he was moving the cash out of Taiwan to profit from the exchange rate difference amid a rapidly depreciating New Taiwan Dollar.
According to Taiwan airport police, the suspect was in Taiwan on an all-expenses paid trip and had expected to earn HK$2,000 if successful.
The case is under investigation at the Customs Administration for handling in accordance with Taiwan law.
Police said Ning, 58, had planned to take a flight to Hong Kong at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
He was intercepted around 4 p.m. Sunday when passing through security at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal One,
Customs reportedly found NT$6.77 million concealed in carry-on luggage and NT$5.7 million in checked luggage for a total of NT$12.47 million.
Three days ago on Friday, Taoyuan airport customs officials confiscated nearly US$28,000 from a Taiwanese man departing for Macau.
On Dec. 23, airport police stopped departing passenger with NT$4.8 million concealed in her luggage and carry-on baggage.
Also in December, police caught a South Korean woman with an undeclared NT$1.9 million, a Taiwanese woman headed to Jakarta with NT$16.6 million and two men with a combined NT$2.5 million.
