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The gold bars that were found on the plane |
(Scroll down for video) Members of an airplane cleaning crew were shocked to find more than $1 million in gold bars stashed away in the public restroom, according to customs officials in India.
The hidden cache of gold bars were found on the commercial jet on Tuesday.
A maintenance crew of the aircraft found 24 gold bars in two bags on board a Jet Airways Boeing 737 aircraft, while conducting routine checks at the end of the day in Calcutta, India.
"It was a big surprise," airport director BP Sharma said.
"The gold bars were packed in bags, so the crew did not immediately know what it was. The bags were inspected and was found to be gold," he said.
The plane had traveled from Mumbai, India, to the Thai capital Bangkok, before returning to Kolkata, India, for the night.
Sharma said that the total weight of the bars is 53 pounds.
An investigation revealed that the gold originated in the United Arab Emirates. They were found in a bin in the bathroom.
This is not the first time that gold bars were found on a plane or at the airport, but usually, gold bars are found on people who try to smuggle precious metals inside their luggage.
An investigation was launched, but so far, no arrests have been made.