The paintings, which initially appeared to be simple decorative pieces, almost passed all airport controls. The black, granular substance was not detected by the initial anti-drug reagents.
The traffickers' plan fell apart hours later when a second, more exhaustive analysis confirmed the presence of cocaine concealed beneath the resin.
Following this discovery, authorities were able to locate and arrest the carrier of the paintings at Madrid-Barajas Airport, just as he was about to flee the country with a ticket back to Colombia.
