Hanoi People’s Court on Tuesday sentenced two men to a combined 25 years in jail for transporting counterfeit banknotes hidden in chickens’ stomachs.
Nguyen Van Huong and Ha Van Hoanh, both 21, of the northern Bac Giang Province were sentenced to 13 and 12 years respectively.
Hanoi police arrested them on April 8 at the Hanoi Rail Station after seizing a plastic bag with VND200 million (US$10,260) in it.
The two confessed they were hired by Nguyen Van Khanh, the owner of a karaoke bar in Lang Son Province, to bring 15,000 Chinese yuan to a night market in Lang Son to exchange for VND200 million in notes.
They met a woman at the market, and she gave them two chickens, adding the money could be found inside the chickens’ stomachs.
They found five taped bundles of money wrapped up in condoms inside each chicken’s gut, and was ordered by Khanh to handle the money to another woman at the Hanoi station.
They were about to exchange the money when police arrested the two men, but the woman fled the scene.
The police have issued a wanted warrant against Khanh.
