ROSTOV-ON-DON, April 3 (RIA Novosti) - Border guards in south Russia's Daghestan have detained a man who tried to smuggle into Russia 84 kg (185 lbs) of hashish in a gas cylinder, the regional customs service said on Friday.

Police used X-ray equipment to scan a Volga car, driven by an Azerbaijani national.

"The images clearly indicated the gas cylinder contained apparent unrelated objects," the source said.

When the cylinder was opened, border guards discovered packets containing a dark brown substance. Tests revealed it was hashish.

The driver said he had transported the drugs to Russia "at the request of his friend," the press service said. He was detained and faces up to seven years in prison if found guilty.