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Japan's customs agents at Narita Airport seized 900 kilograms of gold worth $180 million — then were forced to hand every bar back.No arrest. No fine. The smuggling syndicate walked away clean.The gold, bound for Hong Kong, was held for "relentless questioning" about its origins and refining locations.But without hard evidence of tax fraud on the spot, customs had no legal ground to keep it.Here's the operation: criminal rings smuggle gold into Japan without paying the 10% consumption tax, sell it to domestic dealers at tax-inclusive prices — pocketing that 10% as pure profit — then export it back to Hong Kong tax-free.Then they smuggle it back in again.The loop never stops.The numbers expose the scale: Japan exported 229 tons of gold in 2024 while importing just 9 tons — a country with almost no gold mines somehow outexporting Canada, the world's fourth-largest gold producer.One gold market expert summed it up bluntly: "It's just a game of cat and mouse. Unless Japan removes the consumption tax on gold, the smuggling won't stop."The syndicate is still out there. With the same 900 kilograms.https://www.tokyoreporter.com/japan-news/tabloid/temporary-seizure-of-27-billion-gold-haul-at-narita-exposes-massive-smuggling-loophole/