Spanish police arrested the man at Barcelona's international airport after uncovering a package of cocaine worth €30,000 ($34,000) beneath his toupee, officials said Tuesday.

The Colombian national reportedly attracted police suspicion soon after arriving on a flight from Bogota.

Authorities said he was visibly nervous and appeared to have an abnormally large hairpiece under his hat. Closer examination revealed the man had a bag containing 503 grams (1.1 pound) of the illicit powder taped to his head.

Read more: Why is Colombia's cocaine production so high?

"There is no limit to the inventiveness of drug traffickers trying to mock controls," police said in a statement.

They cited recent cases in which smugglers had tried to bring drugs into Europe inside hollowed-out pineapples, breast implants and a wheelchair cushion.

In 2018, Spanish customs police seized more than 100 kilograms of cocaine at Barcelona-El Prat airport.

Read more: Cocaine in Germany: The 'South American tsunami' 

nm/rc (Reuters, AFP)

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