Drugs seizure Cocaine found in Diego Maradona paintings at Turkish airport
Perhaps stashing your cocaine in portraits of Argentine football legend, and notorious drug user, Diego Maradona as you try to smuggle it through an airport is not the smartest move.
World soccer great Maradona was known for his wild lifestyle and struggled with cocaine addiction for years before passing away on November 25.
That didn’t stop one 72-year-old German national of Croatian origin from attempting to sneak past authorities with his stash hidden in paintings of the former star when he arrived at Istanbul International from Colombia.
He caught the attention of Turkey's Directorate of Customs who then ran an X-ray scan of his luggage while a further probe with sniffer dogs discovered an “unusual density” inside the paintings. When officers removed the backs of the paintings, they found 2.5 kilograms of cocaine hidden in tiny plates inside.
He was arrested at the airport as the cocaine with a street value of 2 million Turkish liras (204,000 euro) was seized.
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