MEXICO CITY (Bernama-dpa) – Colombian authorities on Monday said they arrested a man at Cartagena international airport who was trying to board a flight to the Netherlands with 19 packets of drugs hidden under a toupee, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
The 40-year-old Colombian man was stopped during airport checks as he was trying to get on a flight to Amsterdam, police said in a statement.
According to police, the substance found under the wig tested positive for cocaine and would have corresponded to about 400 doses, with a street value of about EUR10,000 (USD10,500).
Colombian police said the man already appeared in court on drug trafficking charges twice. He was now to be charged with trafficking, manufacturing and carrying narcotic substances.
Gelver Yecid Peña Araque of Cartagena Metropolitan Police said that more than 450 people have been arrested for drug trafficking so far this year, and more than 115 kilograms of drugs have been seized in the period, including marijuana, cocaine paste and cocaine.
Last year, a total of 848.5 tonnes of cocaine were seized in Colombia – a record and a 14 per cent increase over the same period a year earlier.
After the United States, Europe is the largest market for cocaine from Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.
More than 300 tonnes of cocaine were seized in European ports in 2023.
