A Colombian man has been arrested after trying to smuggle 200 grams of cocaine under a toupee on a flight from Cartagena to Amsterdam.

The 40-year-old suspect’s wig contained 19 cocaine capsules valued at more than €10,000 (£8,290), according to local authorities.

The suspect was arrested at Rafael Nunez International Airport on suspicion of trafficking, manufacturing and carrying narcotic substances. He was taken into custody in Cartagena.

Footage released by local police showed an officer wearing hospital gloves cutting through the toupee with scissors, which covered the suspect’s shaved head.

More than a dozen packets of cocaine were strapped to the toupee, protected by a plastic coat.

“Through profiling, they found an individual who intended to board a flight from Cartagena to Amsterdam,” Gelver Yecid Pena Araque, a police commander, said in a statement.

“This individual was profiled by one of our experts…then, after a scan and body search, a wig was found, which contained more than 220 grams of cocaine that he intended to take to the Netherlands. With this, criminal profits took a hit.”