Men arrested with primates in their pants

Three men were stopped from getting on a plane at Delhi - because they had small monkeys in their underpants.

A customs official at Indira Gandhi International Airport said two of the men were found with slender lorises concealed in pouches in their briefs.

The men, all nationals of the United Arab Emirates, were transit passengers on their way to Dubai from Bangkok, reports the BBC.

The animals were discovered after security guards noticed a bulge in their underwear during a frisk.

The condition of the animals was "OK, but deteriorating" according to the official, who declined to be named.

The lorises have been transferred to the Delhi-based organisation People For Animals which is treating them in hospital.

The slender loris is native to India and Sri Lanka, where experts fear it is becoming extinct.

Lorises have become a popular exotic pet in recent years, despite alarms raised by conservationists that the trade is contributing to their demise in the wild.

Conservationists say poachers pull out their teeth - as the primates have a toxic bite - with pliers, making it impossible for them to return to the wild.