Woman Dressed as Nun Held in Caracas on Drug Charges

A 25-year-old Colombian woman dressed as a nun and bound for Rome was detained at Caracas airport carrying 25 pounds of cocaine, the National Guard said on Thursday.

They said the woman, identified as Ofelia del Socorro Gomez, was smuggling the cocaine in 11 packages strapped to her body when she was detained on Wednesday night.

The woman, wearing a blue habit, had arrived on a flight from Bogota and was in a transit lounge when agents noted she was walking awkwardly and decided to search her, a National Guard captain said.

Police said she had a document identifying her as a member of a purported Roman Catholic order called the Conservative Sisters of the Grieving Virgin, a name which does not appear on an official church list of the 102 orders of nuns based here.