Two men arrested at Colombian airport after swallowing $40,000 in cash

Rex

Two men were arrested at the international airport in the Colombian city of Medellin after they ingested $40,000 (£26,500) worth of cash and tried to enter Colombia.

Sky News reports that the pair were detained separately throughout the past week and were on flights arriving from Costa Rica, security officials said.

Regional immigration director, Wilson Patino, based in Antioquia state in north-western Colombia, said: 'This type of money laundering activity is new in Colombia.'

In the past similar methods were used to smuggle contraband narcotics out of the country with packets of drugs worth thousands of pounds being swallowed to sell to overseas markets.

The suspects, from Colombia and Venezuela, were described as being 'heavy-set' with large stomachs that apparently didn't have much difficulty accommodating the wad of currency.

According to Colombia Reports, the Venezuelan man appeared nervous when asked to present his travel documents, prompting officials to call the police.

A body scan later revealed 40 finger capsules, each with 10 $100 dollar bills in his stomach.

Officials did not give details of how the cash was recovered. They believe drug traffickers were behind the plot but have not ruled out the involvement of other crimes, such as those related to arms and human trafficking.

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