The lost artwork of Du Pintor

Island off the coast of Guinea Bissau

It has been reported by numerous sources, including the US government that West Africa is a main point of entry for cocaine. Guinea Bissau also has more than 80 largely uninhabited islands off its coast which makes drug enforcement difficult.

Perhaps this theory is why several pieces artwork painted by a local artist (that were being sent to me) have not arrived. The artwork was given to a nurse visiting from Portugal to send to the USA from Portugal (to avoid the non existent shipping process in Guinea Bissau). Once in Portugal, the police immediately became suspicious when they observed that the artwork carried a return address of Guinea Bissau but was being shipped to me by a Portuguese citizen.  They became so suspicious that they jailed the sender overnight on charges of suspected drug trafficking while they inspected the artwork more closely.

Well, as I was told later, drugs can also be smuggled in artist' canvas. I guess I should not have been surprised at this as I have done a couple of previous posts showing cocaine being smuggled in the form of Manolo Blahnik heels and ballet slippers to other countries in Europe. Clever!

Once the artwork had been cleared, (since there was NO COCAINE hiding in the canvas) the pieces were supposed to be on the way to me, but after nearly 2 months of waiting, they have not arrived. At this point I have just about given up hope of ever receiving them. I have no tracking information and so no way to search for the whereabouts. So sad!

I wondered how this could be done in the canvas so I went online to look
I found an article showing some abstract paintings where cocaine was found 

(NOT my artwork mind you)

"On first inspection the concept of concealing cocaine in these five abstract paintings, which were being flown over from Colombia, would seem a stroke of genius. But there was one major flaw in the smugglers' plan: the smell. When UKBA officers at Stansted Airport opened up the consignment of paintings this April they discovered that the smugglers had covered each of the five canvases with cocaine and then painted over the drugs, which were valued at around £10,000"

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2014741/Nothing-declare-To-catch-smuggler-On-frontline-customs-officers-Gatwick-Airport.html#ixzz1jCrw87Ck

Photo Source: MailOnline