A woman has been arrested at Madrid airport after allegedly trying to smuggle two kilos of cocaine hidden inside a fake pregnancy bump.
Police released images showing the elaborate ruse – a silicone prosthetic belly strapped under her clothes, packed with bricks of white powder.
In a video taken after her arrest, officers can be seen inspecting the tightly wrapped packages of cocaine, laid out on a table beside the skin-coloured prosthetic.
The case joins a growing list of unusual smuggling methods that authorities have intercepted in recent years.
It comes after a bald thief used a series of garish wigs to disguise himself during a crime spree in 2019.
Darren Giardina, 44, carried out a string of robberies across Kent – including one during which a victim was tied up while their home was ransacked – between July and September.
He was jailed for 15 years after being found guilty of two counts of burglary and robbery following a trial at Canterbury Crown Court.
Giardina, of no fixed address, was one of two robbers who tied up a resident and searched his home in Broadstairs in September 2019, stealing numerous items including jewellery, an engraved pocket watch, an antique pistol and an antique musket.
These items were found around a week later at a property in Ramsgate, which had also been burgled.
The victim of the second burglary reported that while furniture and other goods from their property had been stolen, a bag containing things which matched the missing items from Broadstairs had been left there.
Fingerprints belonging to Giardina were also found by forensic officers. An investigation into his movements led to the discovery of CCTV footage that showed he was one of the robbers, and that he had dressed himself in a wig during the incident.
He was captured on tape stealing a copper water tank from a property in Ramsgate in July, and was also seen stealing from a car in Broadstairs, while wearing another wig, the following month.
Senior investigating officer, Det Sgt Jay Robinson, of Kent Police, said: ‘Giardina’s decision to wear wigs to try and disguise himself was undoubtedly a ‘hair-brained’ one – he was recognisable despite wearing them.
‘He was also identified as the suspect because he left fingerprints and other evidence at the scenes which our team quickly located.
‘Perhaps Giardina will use his time in prison to consider putting his energies into something positive to benefit others, rather than party costumes to benefit his own greed.’
He added: ‘Stealing from other people is despicable; the victim in the robbery was subjected to a frightening experience, and those who had their homes burgled now have to come to terms with someone rummaging through their belongings.
‘I thank them all for supporting this investigation and wish them all the best for the future.’
In another case, in 2021 two men allegedly tried to import 63kg of ice into Australia concealed inside the wooden pallets of a freight shipment from Malaysia labelled as ‘mop buckets’.
Images of the bizarre smuggling method show packets of the methamphetamine, which has a street value of $18.9million, pressed into thin strips and concealed inside 18 hollowed-out pallet boards.
‘You name it; they’ve tried to hide drugs in it,’ AFP acting commander crime Geoff Turner said.
He said despite the creativity of criminals, authorities remained one step ahead, using advanced technology to catch offenders red-handed.
‘We are dedicated to stopping these harmful drugs reaching our communities and harming countless Australians,’ he said.
After the drugs were discovered in March, AFP officers allowed the shipment to be delivered under surveillance to an address in Guildford West in Sydney.
A 27-year-old man was arrested as the alleged recipient of the delivery.
A 36-year-old man was also arrested in connection with the shipment after a search warrant was conducted at a Bexley residence.
They were both charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of unlawfully imported border controlled drugs, contrary to section 307.5 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 – which carries penalties up to life imprisonment.
