Canadian Women Arrested, Fake Baby Bump Yielded Cocaine

A Canadian woman has been arrested in Colombia after her fake baby bump yielded 2kgs (4.4lbs) of cocaine.

Tabitha Leah Ritchie, 28 years old, was about to board a long haul Air Canada flight from the capital Bogota to Toronto when she was stopped by an anti-drugs officer at El Dorado airport in Columbia. She told the officer she was seven months pregnant. When the inspector touched her belly, he found it unusually cold and hard.

Succeeding interrogations later revealed the pregnant belly was actually made of latex taped to Ms Ritchie's body. In it were 2kgs (4.4lbs) of cocaine, Col. Esteban Arias, the deputy director of the country's antinarcotic police department, said.

"The Canadian citizen tried to fool public security forces by faking a pregnancy," he said. Ms Ritchie arrived in Colombia on Aug 6 and identified herself as a social worker, according to police.She caught the attention of the Colombian authorities when she reacted aggressively to a simple query hurled towards her. She was reportedly just asked how long was she into her pregnancy.

She was immediately searched.

"[The Canadian] didn't like the question, which made the official suspicious. Instinctively, she then very delicately touched the lady's belly, realising it was too hard and extremely cold," Mr Melo said.

Ms Ritchie faces up to eight years in prison once convicted for the drug smuggling. The smuggled drugs have a street value of $60,000.

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