Woman held 'smuggling gold in her shoes' on Russia border with China

A woman has been detained for trying to smuggle gold in her shoes across Russia's border with China.

Using a metal detector, Russian customs officers discovered she had eight gold discs taped to the soles of her feet.

Altogether the 1.9kg (4.1lb) of gold is worth more than five million roubles (£61,096; $78,650).

The Russian national seemed "nervous and suspicious", said Marina Boyko, a customs spokeswoman at a border post near Chita in eastern Siberia.

She "unnaturally placed one foot in front of the other", which roused the suspicions of officers.

The woman was smuggling the gold for a Chinese citizen, the statement said. Officers have launched a criminal investigation.

Authorities in Russia's Zabaykalsky-Krai region have detained a number of people this year who have tried to smuggle gold to China, the statement said - including one Russian caught allegedly trying to move 10 gold bars across the border in their trainers.

Gold mining is big business in resource-rich Siberia. A dam collapsed at a mine in the Krasnoyarsk region in October, killing at least 15 people.

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