DistantNews
Support us
🇮🇩 Indonesia /Crime & Justice

Two Chinese Nationals Arrested While Allegedly Trying to Smuggle 16 Gold Bars Out of Indonesia

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • Indonesian authorities arrested two Chinese nationals after finding 16 gold bars weighing 16 kilograms in their suitcases at Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado.
  • Police said the gold allegedly lacked official permits or came from illegal mining and was bound for Singapore before continuing to Hong Kong.
  • The seizure followed public information received by a rapid-response team and airport surveillance.

Two Chinese nationals were stopped at Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado while allegedly trying to take 16 kilograms of gold out of Indonesia, police said.

The gold consisted of 16 bars suspected of lacking official authorization or originating from illegal mining. Authorities said the shipment was headed first to Singapore and then to Hong Kong.

The case began with information received by the North Sulawesi Police rapid-response team on Friday, September 4, 2026. The team coordinated with Sam Ratulangi Airport staff and increased monitoring of passengers and luggage.

At around noon local time, an X-ray machine detected two suitcases belonging to the suspects. A more detailed inspection with airport personnel uncovered the gold bars inside. The two suspects, identified by the initials XQI and XQU, were immediately taken into custody.

The gold was going to be taken out of the country by two foreign nationals from China.

· Alamsyah P. HasibuanThe North Sulawesi police spokesman described the alleged smuggling attempt.
About this summary

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog