Russian spy chiefs seized allegedly illicit gains worth an estimated 2.4 million GBP from illegal gold miners.

Local media reported that the gang had been running an illegal mining operation in the remote, environmentally protected Ursals region.

Astonishing evidence footage supplied by the region's FSB spy agency shows massive nuggets over 12 inches (30 centimetres) long waiting to melt down.

Nearby can be seen four huge homemade ingots and smaller squash ball-sized balls of pure gold.

Officers also seized powerful metal detectors and gold processing equipment, reported local media in Yekaterinburg.

Experts value the haul more than RUB 30 million (around GBP 2.4 million).

A statement from the FSB issued on October 21 said: 'The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in the Chelyabinsk region detained participants of an interregional criminal group specialising in the illegal extraction of natural gold in several regions of Russia.

'During the operational-search measures and urgent investigative actions, gold ingots and homemade bars with a total weight of more than 41 kilogrammes worth about RUB 30 million were seized from the detainees as well as equipment for the extraction of precious metal.'

Officials have not revealed how many suspects were detained but say they could be facing jail sentences of up to five years if convicted of illegal mining.

Gold demand has soared in recent years fueled by inflation, political instability and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. The price has soared to record highs with central governments - notably China and Russia - buying up large quantities of the precious metal as a hedge against the dollar and the power of the West.

Controversial banker JP Morgan famously said: 'Gold is money, everything else is credit.'

However, some investors remain cynical of 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.'