Smugglers are coming up with all types of creative ways to stash their loot but they’re often no match for drug-sniffing canines. A man attempted to sneak through the Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy, with nearly 30 pounds of cocaine stuffed inside a wheelchair.
The Financial Guard police explained that the specialized canine unit was deployed to check arriving passengers and their luggage from a flight from the Dominican Republic. Apparently, drug couriers have used this route rather frequently, making it an easy target for elite drug-sniffing dogs.
One of the dogs garnered the attention of officers by focusing on one traveler in particular. Police checked his luggage, which didn’t contain anything out of the ordinary. Next, police slashed open the passenger’s motorized wheelchair, where he had been hiding 29 pounds of cocaine inside the leather upholstery.
The chair user got up without assistance and was taken into custody for his crime. He was brought to a local jail, where judicial authorities upheld his detention pending an investigation of the case.
Police said 11 packets of cocaine were found, weighing a total of 13.35 kilograms (around 29 pounds). The loot is estimated to have a street value of $1.4 million.