A couple spent 38 days in a German prison after ‘staff’ at a Brazilian airport put their luggage tags on suitcases packed with drugs.
Kátyna Baía and Jeanne Paolini, both in their forties, were arrested in Frankfurt on suspicion of international drug trafficking after officers discovered 43kg of cocaine in luggage with their names on.
An investigation in Brazil found the innocent couple were caught up in a international gang swapping baggage at the São Paulo International Airport, The Sun reported.
Horrifying CCTV footage appears to show the moment airport staff took off the couple’s checked-in bags from the carousel before removing the labels and attaching them to the luggage stuffed with drugs.
When Ms Baía and Ms Paolini got to Germany they were wrongfully arrested and imprisoned for 38 days on suspicion of drug trafficking.
The pair had planned an almost three-week trip to Europe, travelling from where they live in Goiânia, Brazil, to Berlin, with connecting flights in São Paulo and Frankfurt.
Ms Paolini, a vet, told The Sun: ‘This entire experience was an enormous shock for both of us and our families.
‘I was taken to a windowless room, and as soon as I entered he asked me to put my hands on the wall and handcuffed me saying I was under arrest.
‘I obviously started to ask why he was arresting me but I could only understand the word ‘cocaine’ as he was speaking German.’
The woman was reunited with her partner at a police station within the airport.
‘It took us at least four hours to finally understand what happened as they [police] had to call a translator in,’ said Ms Paolini.
‘It was at that moment that we learned about the 43kg of cocaine in the bags.’
She added: ‘It was at that moment that we learned about the 43kg of cocaine in the bags.’
The two women spent a day in prison before being transported to a hearing, after which they were taken to a female prison for 38 days on the outside of Frankfurt.
‘At night, I’d hear all those women crying, not knowing if Jeanne was one of them as we were in separate cells,’ Ms Baía said.
‘We also lost count of how many times we went through strip searches, it was extremely humiliating.’
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