Two Colombian women were detained at Panama's Tocumen International Airport Friday after they tried to fly to Spain using cocaine hidden under wigs.
Xiomara Rodriguez, a Panamanian drug prosecutor, initially reported that a Colombian woman was being arrested while she was flying to Madrid. After her hairstyle raised suspicion, the first inmate was taken into custody by police at the airport.
Officers were able to detect drug pills on the suspect's head after a CT scan. They found it between her hair and her wig. Ms. Rodriguez said that the woman had "68 cylindrical black packages containing white powder" under her wig.
This is a "unprecedented" method of trafficking in Panama, said Ms. Rodriguez in a video posted to the Twitter account of Panama's Attorney General's Office.
The prosecutor's office announced that "a second woman" was arrested with "67 packages alleged drugs" under another wig. She was also on her way from Colombia to Spain. Sources at the attorney general's Office confirmed that the second detainee was also Colombian.
The Panamanian police were surprised to find a "narcochat" in 2021. This feline was carrying cocaine crack, marijuana, and its neck around it.
Panama is the main entry point into Central America for drugs originating from South America. These drugs are mainly from Colombia, which is the largest producer of cocaine in the world. They are destined for the United States.
However, authorities in Central America have observed a substantial increase in drug trafficking to Europe via the Caribbean ports.
