A Taiwanese woman was stopped by police at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday with NT$16.6 million (US$504,513) in cash concealed in her luggage, airport police said.
The money was seized because it far exceeded the NT$100,000 maximum amount of cash a passenger is allowed to carry when leaving the nation, police said.
The money would be returned to the woman, identified only by her surname, Chen (陳), via due process, police said.
Photo: Yao Chieh-hsiu, Taipei Times
Chen was barred from boarding a flight to Jakarta after the cash was found in her luggage during an airport security check.
Chen said her intention was to carry the money to Indonesia to buy a house, police said.
Later yesterday evening, the airport intercepted a Hong Kong-bound woman surnamed Wu (吳), who had NT$11.9 million in cash concealed in her luggage.
On Tuesday, a South Korean woman was intercepted at Taoyuan airport after she attempted to take NT$1.9 million out of the nation.
Police said the woman, surnamed Chang, intended to board a plane for South Korea that afternoon.
However, during an X-ray security check NT$1.9 million in NT$1,000-denomination bills was found in her luggage.
The woman told police that the money was from her investments in Taiwan and that she was planning to take it home.
Police turned the case over to customs authorities and the money was later returned, but the woman decided not to continue her trip, police said.
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