Indian officials have seized gold worth more than 50,000 US dollars which was hidden by smugglers inside bars of soap.

The precious metal was discovered by officers in Tiruchirappalli International Airport in Tamil Nadu on September 2nd.

The bars of soap were carefully hollowed out to make space for the gold which was wrapped in black plastic.

The find had an estimated value of 3,800,000 Indian rupees or 51,876 US dollars.

Bootleggers have embedded gold worth Rs 3,800,000 (USD 51876) in soap bars to smuggle it across the border in southern India. 

The bust took place at Tiruchirappalli International Airport in Tamil Nadu on September 2.

Visuals show packets of gold taped to the soap being extracted by airport security personnel. 

The soap bars can be seen carefully carved out to make space for the gold packaged inside a black pouch.

A few weeks ago, a similar bust took place when two people travelling from Abu Dhabi to Chennai had carried gold paste in their shirt sleeves. 

In another raid, a man was found to be carrying gold paste concealed inside his inner-wear.

Senior Officials said that such modus operandi is relatively new and that they are vigilant to curb such cases of smuggling. 

Sources suggest that some of the carriers are labourers who are bringing the gold that is offered by smugglers for a small sum of money.