Pilots are afforded special privileges when traveling through the airport, such as skipping lengthy TSA lines and receiving priority boarding.
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One criminal tried to use that to his advantage by impersonating a pilot to smuggle drugs onto a flight. However, his plan went south when airport officials noticed that his pilot uniform didn't have the proper decals. Plus, the uniform didn't fit him comfortably because of the 22 pounds of cocaine he had stashed underneath.
Most air passengers struggle to sneak a normal-sized tube of toothpaste through TSA. Somehow, the pilot impersonating man believed he could sneak massive amounts of cocaine on his person.
Unsurprisingly, the plan didn't pan out, and the man was arrested at a Colombian airport for possessing 22 pounds of cocaine.
Pilot Impersonating Drug Smuggler Arrested at Airport
The incident occurred on Monday, July 13, at the El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia, according to local news outlets El País Cali, El Colombiano and El Tiempo. The man was later identified as Spanish national Carlos Barbería Hernando. He was reportedly attempting to catch a flight to Barcelona, Spain.
His uniform was the first thing that caught authorities' attention, El Tiempo reports. Due to the drugs on his person, Hernando was nearly bulging out of his clothes. Additionally, some accessories did not match those used by authentic commercial pilots, per the outlet.
