--- description: Customs officials say the envoy was trying to smuggle gold via Singapore to Bangladesh title: North Korean Diplomat Caught with $1.4 Million in Gold in Bangladesh image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Bangladesh](/tag/bangladesh/) ## Bangladesh Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # North Korean Diplomat Caught Smuggling $1.4 Million in Gold in Bangladesh  by [Naina Bajekal](/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. Mar 6, 2015 1:40 PM CUT  by [Naina Bajekal](/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. Mar 6, 2015 1:40 PM CUT Bangladesh seized about $1.4 million worth of gold from a North Korean diplomat at Dhaka airport Friday, [according to a senior official](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/06/us-bangladesh-northkorea-diplomat-idUSKBN0M20JT20150306 "undefined"). Customs officers detained Son Young Nam, the First Secretary of the North Korean Embassy in Dhaka, upon his arrival from Singapore with nearly 60 pounds of gold, according to _Reuters_. The chairman of the National Board of Revenue, Najbur Rahman, said that Nam had told officials there was nothing to scan in his hand luggage. “Later we informed our foreign ministry and he was released on Friday under the Vienna Convention,” Rahman said. The Vienna Convention grants diplomatic immunity to envoys like Nam, but Bangladesh said it will file charges in this case. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/06/us-bangladesh-northkorea-diplomat-idUSKBN0M20JT20150306 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3735093/north-korea-diplomat-gold/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3735093/north-korea-diplomat-gold/"},"headline":"North Korean Diplomat Caught Smuggling $1.4 Million in Gold in Bangladesh","datePublished":"2015-03-06T13:40:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:58:10.273Z","description":"Son Young Nam was carrying 60 pounds of gold","url":"https://time.com/3735093/north-korea-diplomat-gold/","keywords":["Bangladesh","North Korea"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Naina Bajekal","jobTitle":"Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/bangladesh/","name":"Bangladesh"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3735093/north-korea-diplomat-gold/","name":"North Korean Diplomat Caught Smuggling $1.4 Million in Gold in Bangladesh"}}]}] ```