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The Washington Post

Drug smugglers have used everything from frozen sharks to cucumbers to breast implants to hide their contraband.
On Tuesday, the Spanish National Police Corps added another unusual method to the list: a poorly fitted toupee.
The precariously perched hairpiece, documented in photos tweeted by the agency, raised authorities’ suspicion at the airport in Barcelona, Spanish paper La Vanguardia reported. Hidden underneath was half a kilogram (about a pound) of cocaine.
Side-by-side photographs illustrate why the man caught the authorities’ attention. One picture captures the dark-coloured toupee protruding several inches above his head, oddly thick in contrast to the close-cropped hair below. The other shows what appears to be the package that police say he tried to smuggle through the airport.

Not pictured is the hat police say the toupee bulged out of.
The 65-year-old native of Colombia arrived on a flight from Bogota, according to La Vanguardia. Police have not identified the man, who was apprehended last month, nor have they said why the incident was just now publicised. They did not respond immediately to inquiries on Tuesday.
The man, who appeared nervous, was held and charged after police found his poorly concealed package to hold €30,000 (US$33,700) worth of cocaine, police told La Vanguardia.
More cocaine is seized in Spain than in any other European country, according to news outlet El País, which said interceptions of the drug in the nation have grown by 5,000 per cent between 1987 and 2018.
Flushing drugs down toilet could create ‘meth-gators’, US police warn
Spanish officials have sought to work with other countries to curb smuggling. Other recent incidents have spotlighted this struggle with narcotics.
In May, Spanish police arrested 12 people accused of smuggling cocaine-infused plastic from Colombia.
And in June, in an embarrassing incident for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro – who has said he would crack down on drug trafficking – a Brazilian Air Force sergeant was arrested at another Spanish airport over 39kg (86 pounds) of cocaine found on a presidential plane headed to a summit of world leaders.


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Drugs

Man arrested trying to smuggle US$33,700 worth of cocaine into Spain under ill-fitting wig

A man poses with drug package hidden under a toupee (left) and with the package on his head (right).

A man poses with a drug package on his head, that he hid under a toupee, after being arrested in Barcelona, Spain, in this picture released on July 16, 2019. Spanish National Police via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. FACE OBSCURED AT SOURCE

A man poses with drug package hidden under a toupee, in a picture released on Tuesday. Photo: Spanish National Police via Reuters

Drug dealers offering free travel and quick cash to lure young Hongkongers into trafficking cocaine, Ice and ketamine mules

Cocaine wraps found inside the shoes of a suspect, who is one of four arrested in a customs operation targeting drug trafficking by young people between Hong Kong and Macau. Photo: Handout

Photo ID 1161060 Customs and Excise Department Hong Kong Customs steps up enforcement action against cross-boundary youth drug trafficking between Hong Kong and Macao (2) Hong Kong Customs stepped up enforcement action against youth drug trafficking activities between Hong Kong and Macao during the period from May 27 to yesterday (July 8). A total of three drug trafficking cases were detected at Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal and China Ferry Terminal, with seizures of about 70 grams of different kinds of suspected dangerous drugs. The estimated market value of the seizures is about $60,000. Photo shows some of the suspected cocaine seized. 09/07/2019

Eight charged in Germany over banana box cocaine smuggling

Evidence of the ring came to light when supermarket workers in Bavaria came across small bags of cocaine tucked down the sides of banana boxes. Photo: New Zealand Herald

Meet Sombra, the drug dog that sniffed out 2,000kg of cocaine, prompting a Colombian cartel to put a price on her head

Sombra has helped detect more than 2,000kg of cocaine. Photo: AP

Drug dog Sombra rides with her handler, officer Jose Rojas, to the cargo hold at the El Dorado airport in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, July 26, 2018. After learning there was a price on Sombra’s head, Colombia’s national police director ordered her to be transferred to a new post earlier this year, according to local news reports. Colombian police recently revealed that the Gulf Clan, a cartel that boasts its own guerrilla army, has offered a reward of $7,000 to whoever kills or captures the savvy hound. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Man arrested trying to smuggle US$33,700 worth of cocaine into Spain under ill-fitting wig

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Nervous suspect caught attention of authorities at airport in Barcelona

Nervous suspect caught attention of authorities at airport in Barcelona