AFP reported on April 27 that a woman who hid 2 kg of cocaine in a wig braid was sentenced to 18 months in prison in Guadeloupe, a French territory in the Caribbean.
According to customs official Olivier Fouque, a 24-year-old woman from Guyana was arrested at an airport in March. Mr. Fouqe has not publicly named this woman.
The official said the cocaine was in "tubes hidden in fake braids." The woman was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined 30,000 euros, he said, without providing further details.
This case is an example of new tactics to smuggle drugs into the French archipelago, after authorities introduced stricter checks at the airport.
Last year, up to 47 people were arrested for having cocaine and other drugs in their stomachs, according to Mr. Fouqe. This year there have been several similar cases discovered.
France introduced stricter checks on flights in Guyana in 2022 and the measure was extended to Guadeloupe and Martinique in March.
Mr Fouque said at least 30 "suspects" had been refused boarding flights at French airports in the Carribean this year.
In 2022, Colombia arrested two women trying to smuggle cocaine by hiding it in their hair.
The two suspects were arrested at two different airports, on their way to Spain and were stopped after authorities discovered cocaine when they passed through the scanner. A total of 2 kg of this white powder drug was discovered.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
