A passenger was arrested for allegedly hiding gold bars in his underwear and shoes at an airport in Vietnam.

The suspect had arrived at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, on an Airbus A320 operated by Hong Kong Express on October 4 morning.

He was undergoing customs inspections when metal detectors flagged suspicious metal objects on his body.

Concerned guards ushered him into another room for a more thorough inspection.

CCTV footage shows an officer scanning the man's shoes before ordering him to retrieve the gold bars tucked in the soles.

Another clip shows them taking the last gold bar strapped on the waistband of the man's black underwear.

Three of the bars were in tact and three had been sawn in half to make them easier to carrier. Each was stamped by the refinery where they were made.

The passenger claimed the three bars weighing a total of 3kg were made of 99.99 per cent gold worth around 252,195 USD at the current market rate.

The suspect was handed over to the Hanoi Police Department for further investigation.

Phung Quang Minh, Deputy Director of the Noi Bai International Airport Customs Office, said: 'In light of the volatile gold market, customs authorities have strengthened screening efforts, especially for high-risk passengers such as those traveling frequently with minimal luggage.'

Vietnamese regulations state that individuals entering the country must complete customs declarations if they are carrying more than 300 grams of gold.

Gold demand has soared in recent years fueled by inflation, political instability and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. Central governments - notably China and Russia - have been buying up large quantities of the precious metal as a hedge against the dollar and the power of the West.

However, some investors remain cynical to the benefits of gold, which was dubbed the 'barbarous relic' by economist John Maynard Keynes, who believed it had limited uses.

Stock market doyen Warren Buffet is similarly dismissive of gold, which he does not hold in his investments.

He said: 'Gold gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it.'






(1 GBP = 32,494 VND)