Korea’s customs office said Tuesday it has seized a total of 1,471 kilograms of gold in its crackdown on smuggling attempts over the past four years as rising international gold prices have encouraged people to ship out the precious metal for profit.

The amount was the result of crackdowns enforced from 2008-2011 in a total of 74 cases, according to the Korea Customs Service. All of it was confiscated as it was being smuggled out.

This marks a contrast from the previous four years when 6,768 kilograms of seized gold was seized as it was being covertly shipped into the domestic markets.

The KCS attributed the change in smuggling trends to spiking international gold prices, which has encouraged people to venture out for profit by using price differences of the metal between domestic and foreign markets.

Another reason is that more foreign workers residing here are seeking to sneak out their income without paying due taxes to authorities.

The confiscated gold was mostly bound for neighboring Asian countries, the agency said.

China was the No. 1 destination with a total of 20 smuggling attempts foiled by customs officials. Hong Kong came next with 14 such cases, followed by Japan and Vietnam with 11 cases each, according to the agency. 

(Yonhap News)