Image copyright Sri Lanka customs

Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a man for allegedly trying to smuggle gold and jewellery weighing up to 1kg (2.2lb) hidden in his rectum.

Customs officials found 904 grams of gold, worth about 4.5m Sri Lankan rupees ($29,370, £21,700) inside the suspect's rectal cavity.

The 45-year-old Sri Lankan man was bound for India but was stopped at Colombo's international airport.

There have been several similar cases in past years.

Typically smugglers in the region buy gold in places like Dubai and Singapore, where it is relatively cheap, and then take it to India to sell there at a profit.

Image copyright Sri Lanka customs Image caption The precious cargo was neatly wrapped in plastic

A customs officer told BBC Sinhala they spotted the man because "he was walking suspiciously".

Metal detectors then identified the hidden luggage, "carefully packed in polythene bags and neatly inserted", according to a custom officer.

"Among that there were four yellow gold biscuits, three pieces of yellow gold, six yellow gold jewellery articles and two silver plated yellow gold jewellery articles," a customs spokesman said.

Image copyright Alamy Image caption Gold often fetches a higher price in India

Last week a Sri Lankan female also travelling to India was caught by customs while trying to smuggle 314.5 grams of gold pieces concealed in her rectum.