Passengers arrested after refusing to accept meals and drinks during flight

If you've ever assumed that all a flight attendant has to do is serve food and drinks, then you're sorely mistaken.

Not only does a flight attendant have to keep everyone on the flight fed and watered, they also have to keep everyone safe and a big part of that is keeping a keen eye for any suspicious activity.

In fact, it was thanks to some eagle-eyed flight attendants that customs officials at Delhi Airport in India managed to uncover a foiled gold smuggling operation, after passengers refused the in-flight meal service. Because let's face it, who can make it through a long flight without so much as a cup of tea or a chocolate bar?

The passengers were sitting unusually still (Getty Stock Images)

Staff onboard the Indigo Airlines flight 6E-1802 first became suspicious when they noticed three passengers sitting unusually still throughout the three-and-a-half-hour flight from Almaty, Uzbekistan, prompting crew to offer them a range of refreshments in a bid to test their reactions.

When the passengers refused food, tea and water, the flight attendants became increasingly concerned with their bizarre behavior and decided to alert the captain.

In turn, the Indigo Airlines captain used air traffic control to contact customs officers at Delhi's IGI airport, who were waiting to intercept the passengers on their arrival in the Indian capital.

Staff at customs decided to question the three passengers and their luggage was sent through the X-ray machine, but nothing was found. Still not satisfied by the results, customs officers used Door Frame Metal Detectors to investigate further, to no avail.

It led to a shocking find (Getty Stock Photo)

Still convinced that something suspicious was going on, the officials took each of the travelers into private rooms to interrogate them separately and each of them in turn confessed to smuggling gold pieces in their rectums.

When officers searched for the hidden treasure, they recovered around 439 grams of gold from eight separate pieces.

According to News 18, all three passengers were then arrested at the airport and taken into custody, though it's not clear if the passengers are from India.

Meanwhile, a passenger travelling from Indore to New Delhi was recently intercepted after being flagged as suspicious at the Indira Ghandi International Airport.

Airport security noticed something odd when the luggage passed through the X-ray machine.

While searching the suitcase, they discovered almost 999 grams of gold, believed to be worth around $86,000.