A Chinese man was caught by customs officers as he tried to breach regulations by leaving the country with up to US$74,000 hidden strapped around his waist, mainland media report.

Mainland rules state that people who leave the country with more than US$5,000 in cash must notify the customs authority, which will then issue a bank certificate, covering the outstanding sum, which permits them to take a large sums of foreign currency abroad.

Shenzhen officials became suspicious of the “surprisingly plump” unnamed man last Friday morning after he began constantly looking at staff and appeared nervous while queuing up to pass through customs, the news portal Youth.cn reported.

Officials were also surprised that man, who is in his 50s, was wearing a jacket, even though the weather was hot and humid, and also had an unnaturally large waistline.

After he was stopped and questioned by customs officers an alarm sounded when a scanner revealed the money strapped to his waist.