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Ten Venezuelans impersonating Olympic weightlifters were arrested at Argentina’s main airport with capsules of liquid cocaine hidden in their stomachs, an airport source said Saturday.
The fake athletes were waiting to board a flight to Portugal’s capital Lisbon when they were arrested after being subjected to a full body scan, which revealed the presence of the cocaine capsules.
The men were arrested by airport security police and turned over to a Buenos Aires criminal court, the source explained.
Three Dominican Republic nationals linked to the case were also arrested in separate raids on a hotel and an apartment in Buenos Aires, according to Argentina state news agency Telam.
The investigation began in July, following a legal complaint pointing to a Venezuelan man allegedly leading a drug trafficking ring in Buenos Aires, and culminated in this week’s operation.