SHENZHEN - A young man has been caught trying to smuggle more than 1,000 diamonds into Shenzhen city from neighboring Hong Kong by hiding them in his shoes.

Customs officials in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province, found 212.9 carats of diamonds in the alleged smuggler's insoles when he passed through Luohu port, which links Hong Kong with inland cities, on March 13.

"The man was suspicious as he sometimes tiptoed. When he found that we were looking at him, he quickly shifted to normal walking posture," said a customs officer surnamed Wang.

Customs officers asked the young man to take off his shoes. When they removed his insoles, they found several bags of sparkling diamonds.

The man is being investigated.

According to customs at Luohu port, diamonds have been found in the socks and snack food packages of other smugglers. A few days earlier, a man tried to sneak 1,554 diamonds weighing 164 carats in packaged snack food.