A 64-year-old Briton, first suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus in Colombia, was eventually arrested after police discovered that his pain was in fact due to the cocaine capsules he had ingested.
The man was arrested after workers at the hotel, where he had stayed in Cali (southwest), raised the alarm because "he was exhibiting symptoms apparently related to Covid-19," the police said. police on Friday in a statement.
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But, after his transfer to the hospital to test him, the doctors realized that he had capsules filled with cocaine in his stomach and the hypothesis that he was contaminated could also be ruled out, specifies the text.
The British national, who has not been identified, will be brought to justice for the manufacture, trafficking and possession of drugs, according to the police. In addition to two drug capsules which he expelled to the hospital, fifteen others were seized in his hotel room.
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The arrest of Colombian and foreign nationals, with cocaine in their stomachs, is frequent in Colombia, the world's largest producer of this drug, according to the UN, and of which the United States is the first consumer.
These narcotic transporters called "mules" swallow the drug, generally packaged in latex capsules, to pass customs controls.