A modern-day Kuman Thong ritual with wooden idols Youtube/billionmore A British man of Asian origin was arrested in Thailand after police found him in possession of six human fetuses that had been roasted and covered in gold leaf in a black magic ritual, The Telegraph reports.

The man, Chow Hok Kuen, 28, confessed to police he had bought the fetuses from a Taiwanese man a few days earlier for 200,000 baht ($6,382), and he intended to smuggle them into Taiwan, where he would have been able to sell them for at least six times that amount.

While the fetuses were found in a separate hotel from the one Chow was staying at in Bangkok’s Chinatown district, they were in his luggage, according to The Independent.

The fetuses, which were tattooed and adorned with religious beads, showed development from between two to eight months, police said. The Guardian has photos from Reuters >

Worship of the fetuses is an ancient Buddhist practice called Kuman Thong. According to Thai black magic, they bring good fortune and protection from danger, and are often kept in shrines by parts of the Chinese community. The male fetuses are removed from the womb, dried as black magic incantations are said over the body, then covered in gold leaf. In practice, fetuses have been replaced by wooden effigies.

Chow faces one year in prison and a 2,000-baht fine if he is found guilty, the Guardian says.

The incident is the second strange dead-baby incident — South Korea captured a shipment of capsules full of dead babies earlier this month >