Woman caught at airport with $38,500 hidden inside her body

A fashion designer was arrested at an airport in Colombia with at least $38,500 hidden in latex-covered capsules inside her body.

The unnamed 39-year-old arrived at the capital’s El Dorado airport on a flight from Mexico on Wednesday with 46 of the capsules in her stomach and 14 in her vagina. She had also hidden some cash inside sanitary pads in her suitcase.



Scanners picked up the capsules and she was taken to a hospital, where she remains because she has been unable to expel the final six capsules, General Gustavo Moreno, head of the customs police, said.

Colombia supplies around 90% of the cocaine consumed in the US and drug mules often swallow small capsules of cocaine. However, it is much rarer to find people using the tactic to smuggle cash in excess of the $10,000 legal limit. Moreno said instances have increased recently because the strength of the US dollar encourages drug criminals to repatriate profits.

There's a short video here.