Cocaine haul stuffed in religious statues

Police in the city of Perugia have confiscated a €100,000 haul of cocaine, of a purity not seen before in Italy, found stuffed in religious statues.

Published: 9 January 2014 10:28 CET

Cocaine haul stuffed in religious statues

The religious statues were stuffed with cocaine. Photo: J E Theriot/Flickr

The unexpected discovery was made when police stopped a car in the city and noticed one of the passengers becoming nervous, Umbria 24 reported on Wednesday.

Italian Nabil Valentin Bahy Barazorda, 23, and 35-year-old Peruvian Jaime Fernando Martinez Cardenas evidently had something to hide.

In the subsequent search police found a black and white carnival mask, a bag concealing cocaine and two religious statues stuffed with the drug.

The total haul amounted to just 500g, but of such a purity that it was thought to be worth €100,000, Umbria 24 said.

The duo were promptly arrested and police are currently investigating the source of the drug, thought to be a South American country.

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