Man stopped at border with $500,000 strapped to legs

A man was stopped at a Shenzhen checkpoint on Wednesday after strapping half a million dollars to his legs.

Sha Tau Kok custom officers discovered 3,621,230 yuan ($580,000) taped to the man's legs and hidden in his bags as he tried to cross into Guangdong province from Hong Kong. According to reports, the man had been acting suspiciously and when ordered to open his bag attempted to flee.

Chinese law dictates travellers are only allowed to carry up to 31,218 yuan ($5,000) worth of foreign currency when entering the mainland without a declaration form. 

The man later said he had wanted to buy a home with the cash, and was trying to avoid the five percent commission fee charged by bank wire transfer services.

[Image via Shanghai Daily]