Police say the man was trying to board a Barcelona flight with 22 pounds of cocaine under his uniform. The disguise, apparently, had limits. Officers noticed the man’s outfit did not quite match the role he was trying to play, which is generally a problem when the role is “commercial airline pilot.”
Why police stopped the man at El Dorado
The suspect entered the airport on July 13 wearing what appeared to be the uniform of a pilot from an international airline, local reports said. He was reportedly identified as Spanish national Carlos Barbería Hernando.
Authorities said officers became suspicious because the uniform did not fit properly and some of his accessories did not match those typically used by commercial pilots. That was enough for officers from the Colombian National Police’s Anti-Narcotics division to pull him aside before he could board the flight.
The intended destination, according to local reporting, was Barcelona, Spain. For investigators, that detail matters because it points to a possible international trafficking route rather than a one-person bad idea carried out with an alarming amount of tape.
What the body scanner allegedly found
After Barbería Hernando was stopped, officers reportedly sent him through a body scanner. The scan allegedly revealed 10 kilograms of cocaine, equal to about 22 pounds, concealed beneath his clothing.
