Cleaners discover gold stash hidden in aeroplane loo

Cleaners have stumbled across £700,000 worth of gold bars hidden in an aeroplane toilet.

Workers discovered the stash on a Jet Airways plane when it landed in Calcutta, India from the Thai capital Bangkok.

A customs spokesman said 24 bars, weighing about one kilogram each, had been found. Officials are now investigating.

The Indian government recently increased import duty on gold, prompting a rise in smuggling.

The country is the world's largest importer of the precious metal, taking in 393.68 tonnes between April and September this year alone.