Colombian man tries to smuggle 40kg of loose cocaine to Mexico in suitcases

A young man tried to smuggle 40kg of cocaine, wrapped only in black plastic bags and packed in two suitcases, through an airport in El Dorado, Colombia.

The man, who did not deny any of the claims airport security made against him before they opened his suitcases, has never committed any drug-related crime, according to Spanish authorities. The man was supposed to get the drugs to Mexico.

Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported the young Colombian man only worked as a smuggler, or "mule", between two dealers to help out his family in financially challenging times.

When the traveller arrived at passport control, he failed to answer how much the ticket cost and what his reason for travelling was, which gave him away.

Airport security took him to a small room and simply opened the suitcases, which were filled with nothing but drugs.

The maximum sentence for drug smuggling is 15 years in Colombia.

"It is naive to fall into the traps of [drug] networks," El Dorado colonel Diego Rosero told El Mundo. "He was definitely promised it would be a simple mission, without big risks, and he trusted it."

Cocaine trade is huge in South America and, with a street price of $50,000 (£32,500) per kilo in the US, dealers often try to smuggle the drug past the Mexican border.