Dozens arrested for smuggling gold in rectums and private parts

Dozens of South Koreans were arrested for smuggling gold in their private parts over a two year period. Photo / 123RF

Dozens of South Koreans were arrested for smuggling gold in their private parts over a two year period, local media reports.

The smugglers are said to have sneaked in more than two tonnes of the precious metal worth around £77 million ($141m) since March 2015.

Male smugglers hid as many as six gold bars weighing 200g in their rectums while women stashed it in their vaginas.

At least 51 people including several housewives were arrested at Incheon International Airport early last month, the Daily Mail reports.

The value of the gold confiscated by the police was the highest in a single smuggling case.

The smuggling happened from March 2015 and the gold came from Tokyo and China's Yantai.

Korea's gold price is reported to be higher than other countries because of the 15 per cent tax imposed on the metal.

"Gold smuggling is a business people can make money easily from because of the price gap," an official at the Korea Customs Service (KCS) has said.

"As our crackdown gets tougher, smugglers are also getting more sophisticated in hiding gold or other jewellery products they want to bring in."

He went on to say the KCS was preparing to launch a special task force to bring an end illegal gold smuggling.