HANOI, July 31 (RIA Novosti) - A Taiwanese national was sentenced by a Ho Chi Minh court in Vietnam Tuesday to 10 years in prison for smuggling 15,000 diamonds worth more than $1.3 million.
In 2004 over a period of six months, the 45-year-old Taiwanese male regularly smuggled diamonds into Vietnam from Taiwan and Hong Kong without making a custom declaration or paying tax.
The convicted man was finally caught, when airport custom officers discovered 230 quality diamonds in his baggage, and a further 2,500 valuable stones were seized from his apartment in Ho Chi Minh.
