A 40-year-old Colombian man unsuccessfully attempted to smuggle $10,000 worth of cocaine onto a plane. His flight was departing from Colombia to Amsterdam on Thursday, February 20. Colombian police at the Cartagena airport stopped the unnamed man. They would then discover he was attempting to hide the drugs right under his wig.
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The man who was using what Colombian National Police named a "narcopeluca" or "narcowig." As reported by PEOPLE, the cocaine was "camouflaged" under the man's wig, and the drugs were stored in capsules. Officers estimate that the amount of cocaine is valued at approximately 10,000 euros (or about $10,500).
According to a press release issued by the Colombian National Police, the amount of cocaine was enough to provide 400 doses. The Anit-Narcotics Police stationed at the Colombian airport were able to seize the drugs and arrest the man. The press release attributes this to constant surveillance and passenger profiling. While the suspect remains unnamed, he comes from Pereira, a city about 190 miles from Bogotá.
"These capsules contained a substance that, after being subjected to the Homologated Preliminary Identification Test (PIPH), tested positive for cocaine," the press release reads. The suspect's flight plans showed that he intended to deliver the drugs to a third party in Amsterdam.
The press release then states that the 40-year-old suspect has two court records of drug trafficking. The man was "handed over to the Office of the Attorney General for the crime of drug trafficking, production, and possession of narcotics."
Colombian Fight Against Drugs
Brigadier General Gelver Yecid Peña Araque, commander of the Cartagena Metropolitan Police, issued a statement. According to him, this year alone, more than 450 people have been arrested for drug trafficking. Moreover, 115 kilograms of illegal substances such as cocaine and marijuana have also been seized by authorities.
"We are dealing decisive blows against these criminal structures that not only fight over local drug trafficking, but are also the generators of different violent acts and other types of crimes that disrupt peace and coexistence," Peña Araque said. "We continue to stress the importance of the community as our main ally, providing timely information to help us identify and locate criminals."
