Children walk in Las Mercedes, rural area of Quibdo, Colombia, on November 18, 2014. (Agence France- Presse photo)
Bogota:
A Colombian father was arrested on Friday on suspicion of forcing his 11-year-old daughter to swallow 104 cocaine-filled capsules and trying to use her as a drugs mule.
On the run since the girl was hospitalized last week, Diego Fernando Mancilla Aguilar was sought on charges of attempted murder, using a minor to commit a crime and for drug trafficking, prosecutors said.
He was arrested in a country house about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from his hometown of Cali, in western Colombia.
Authorities had offered a reward of more than $9,000- more than 30 times Colombia's minimum monthly wage- for the man's capture.
Last weekend, the girl complained of pain when she returned to her mother's house after spending time with her father.
Doctors found that she had 500-600 grams of cocaine inside her.
According to authorities, the girl was supposed to have flown to Europe- probably Spain- with the capsules in her body.
Along with Peru, Colombia is one of the world's largest producers of cocaine.
On the run since the girl was hospitalized last week, Diego Fernando Mancilla Aguilar was sought on charges of attempted murder, using a minor to commit a crime and for drug trafficking, prosecutors said.
He was arrested in a country house about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from his hometown of Cali, in western Colombia.
Authorities had offered a reward of more than $9,000- more than 30 times Colombia's minimum monthly wage- for the man's capture.
Last weekend, the girl complained of pain when she returned to her mother's house after spending time with her father.
Doctors found that she had 500-600 grams of cocaine inside her.
According to authorities, the girl was supposed to have flown to Europe- probably Spain- with the capsules in her body.
Along with Peru, Colombia is one of the world's largest producers of cocaine.
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