Customs detains four in Kochi for smuggling gold

Kochi, May 28 (IANS) Four passengers, who arrived here on a flight from Malaysia, have been detained by customs officials for carrying gold in their stomach, an official said Wednesday.

The official, who did not wish to be identified, told IANS that four people were questioned by the Cochin Customs officials as they were behaving in a suspicious manner after their flight landed late Tuesday night.

"After speaking to them, we first did a body examination but that did not reveal anything. After that we did a body scan and it showed that metal parts were embedded in their body," said the official.

Later, the four passengers, all hailing from Tamil Nadu, confessed that they had swallowed gold before taking the flight in Malaysia.

Currently, the four people are under medical observation.