by ‘Jola Sotubo

A businessman in India has left doctors in shock after 12 gold bars were found in his stomach during an operation.

The 63-year-old man had reported to the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi with complains of stomach pain and vomitting after he claimed to have swallowed a bottle cover by mistake.

On opening him up however, surgeons were confronted with not one, but 12 gold bars weighing 33 grams each.

C S Ramachandran, a senior consulting surgeon at the hospital, said:

He approached us on April 7 seeking surgery to remove a water bottle cap which he claimed he had accidentally swallowed.

‘We got an X-ray done and it didn’t appear to be a cap. As the gold bars got stacked one behind the other it appeared to be a metal. We were shocked to find not one but 12 gold biscuits in his abdomen.

‘If it would have stayed inside for couple of more days, it would have led to severe bleeding and rupture of the intestine and septicemia.’

The man in question, said to be a known patient of the hospital, has been questioned by custom officials and the gold has been confiscated.