La Paz  - Police found five corpses at an office in Cochabamba, Bolivia, after neighbours in the same office building complained about the stench, Bolivian media reported Wednesday.

Police chief Julio Miranda said officers arrested one man who said he was the rector of a Brazilian university and had bought the bodies from a public hospital in La Paz for around 210 dollars each.

He said was planning to use them in his lessons to medical students, Miranda said. The police chief said four of the bodies were missing internal organs, while the skull of the fifth body was broken in half.

It remained unclear why the suspect - who said he was a doctor - was keeping the bodies in an office. (dpa)