Strange smuggling stories
Airport security checks are pretty thorough these days, but there are still some people who try to sneak illegal items onto aeroplanes. From drugs to dead bodies, here are 5 of the strangest stories of smuggling I’ve ever heard.
Need a fix
Drugs are a common type of contraband to turn up in airport security checks, but the smugglers sometimes find unusual ways of transporting them. You might think a 66 year old man with a broken leg would be unlikely to arouse suspicion, but officials at Barcelona Airport were onto him. On being examined, they found that his plaster cast was made entirely from cocaine. He had flown in from Chile, and the police pay close attention to travellers arriving from South America, because this is one of the main routes for cocaine coming into Europe. X-rays showed that the man really did have an open fracture of the tibia and the fibula, which might have been inflicted upon him deliberately to assist with the plan.
Something fishy
Exotic animals are another favourite for the smugglers, because they can be sold at high prices to Western pet owners. A woman was arrested at Melbourne Airport in 2005, carrying 51 live tropical fish. Officials became suspicious when they heard a “flipping” sound coming from underneath the woman’s skirt. When they lifted it, they found a special apron containing bags of water and her strange cargo.
Bag of bones
In 2008, horrified security staff at Munich Airport stopped a woman at the baggage scan who was found to be carrying a skull and other bones in her luggage. The 62 year old and her friend were taken into police custody. She explained that the skeleton belonged to her brother, who had died 11 years ago in Sao Paulo. She was trying to fulfil his final wish, which was to be buried in Italy. After she produced the correct papers, she was allowed to continue to Naples, bones and all.
Heavy car-go
Baggage handlers at Manchester Airport were put on alert after struggling with a suitcase that weighed in at 68 kg. That’s more than 3 times the personal baggage allowance and over double the maximum weight for a single piece of luggage. When they demanded to see what was inside, they found that the passenger was trying to transport half a car engine in his suitcase. Surely there must be a better way to bring a motor vehicle back to your home country!
Monkey business
Sometimes the security checks miss something. Officials in Lima, Peru, obviously failed to look under one traveller’s hat. During the flight, the other passengers were surprised to see a monkey climb out and perch on his ponytail. The animal spent the rest of the flight under the man’s seat and behaved well. The man was taken away for questioning when he landed in Florida, and the monkey was prepared for a new life in a zoo.
Picture credits
These pictures are for illustration purposes only and the websites named below have nothing to do with the smuggling!
1 – Rugby Rescue – http://www.rugbyrescue.com/Broken_Leg_Rugby.htm
2 – Dogs Pets Cats New Zealand – http://www.dogscatspetsnewzealand.info/
3 – Toptenz – http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-bizarre-collectibles.php
4 – Car Spare Finder – http://www.carsparefinder.co.uk/blog/2006/12/
5 – Look At This – http://seehere.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html
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Have you heard any strange smuggling stories? Please leave your comments below.