Nuts yield heroin haul

Afghanistan is the source of most of the world's heroin

The authorities in India say they have seized heroin with a street value of more than $3m, being smuggled inside almond shells.

Customs officials made the discovery at the international airport in the capital, Delhi, when they stopped a passenger arriving off a flight from Afghanistan.

"The officer on duty took out one of the almonds and squeezed it and found that there was a small white powder pouch inside it," customs officer Manish Mohan told Reuters news agency.

"It was a fake almond.

We were suspicious of the size of almonds as they were bigger than usual

Customs official Manish Mohan

"When we carried out the test, it was found positive for narcotics and it was heroin."

Officials say the drugs would have fetched $3-4m on the international market.

Afghanistan was the world's largest producer of opium, from which heroin is derived, last year, the United Nations says.

India is increasingly being used to channel drugs from Afghanistan to other Asian countries, the authorities say.