Woman fakes pregnancy to carry drugs out of Bogota

BOGOTA, Colombia

Ritchie, a 28 year-old social worker, was arrested by Colombian police. AFP photo

Colombian police said they have arrested a Toronto woman who simulated pregnancy to try to smuggle cocaine.

The woman was identified as Leah Ritchie, a 28 year-old social worker who entered Colombia on Aug. 6 from Toronto, police said, according to the Associated Press.

Col. Esteban Arias said 28-year-old Tabitha Ritchie was stopped while trying to board an Air Canada flight in Bogota after an inspector noted that her belly was unusually cold and hard. A policewoman asked her how long she had been pregnant. “[The Canadian] didn’t like the question, which made the official suspicious. Instinctively, she then very delicately touched the lady’s belly, realizing it was too hard and extremely cold,” Arias said.

A female agent with the anti-drug unit at Bogota’s Eldorado airport found the cocaine hidden under a latex pouch the woman was wearing to simulate pregnancy, Agence France reported. Arias said police discovered a false belly made of latex taped to her body and they found 2 kilograms of cocaine.

Colombia produced 309 tons of cocaine in 2012, according to U.N. estimates, making it one of the world’s top sources of the drug.