The passenger in question was attempting to board a flight from Cartagena, Colombia to Amsterdam when Anti-Narcotics Police stopped him in his tracks at security on 20 February.
The male suspect, 40, from Pereira, allegedly had over 220 grams of cocaine stuffed under his wig, worth $10,000. Watch below:
Cartagena police said in a translated statement: “In the controls deployed by the National Police during the boarding of national and international flights, units of the Anti-Narcotics Police captured a Colombian citizen who intended to board a flight to Amsterdam (Netherlands), with cocaine capsules camouflaged in a wig.
“Thanks to the expertise of National Police officials, through surveillance and profiling of passengers, the capture of a person from the city of Pereira (Colombia) and the seizure of 19 cocaine capsules, camouflaged in a wig that the individual was wearing, was achieved.”
The force noted that the capsules were subjected to the Approved Preliminary Identification Test (PIPH), and tested positive for cocaine.
“According to the flight plans of the captured, 40 years old, he intended to travel to Amsterdam (Netherlands), where he is presumed to carry the alkaloid,” they added.
The passenger was attempting to board a flight from Cartagena, Colombia to Amsterdam (Police Of Cartagena)
“With this important result, it is possible to affect criminal finances and avoid the marketing of more than 400 doses of cocaine, valued at more than 10,000 euros (more than 40 million pesos), in international markets.
“The person indicated presents two judicial annotations for the crime of drug trafficking.
“The captured person was made available to the Attorney General’s Office, for the crime of trafficking, manufacture and possession of narcotic substances.”
The commander of the Metropolitan Police of Cartagena, Brigadier General Gelver Yecid Peña Araque, said that – this year alone – more than 450 people have been arrested for drug trafficking.
He appeared to have drugs hidden under his wig (Police Of Cartagena)
“We are giving forceful blows against these criminal structures that not only dispute the local drug trafficking, but also generate different violent acts and other types of crimes that alter tranquility and coexistence,” he said.
“We continue to insist on the importance of the community being our main ally, we provide timely information, which helps us identify and locate criminals.”
This comes after a drug-smuggling gang was jailed in December after £200 million worth of cocaine stuffed in a shipment of bananas was intercepted.
The capture made it the UK’s largest haul of the drugs at the time.
Crime boss Petko Zhutev was in charge of the operation which planned to bring in the Colombian drugs to a London warehouse in February 2021.
He was unaware it had already been seized by border officials and, ultimately, he was jailed at the Old Bailey for 27 years alongside four others.
