Foreword: Don't try this at home. According to a BBC Australia report out yesterday, last year, Denise Marie Woodrum, 51, from Missouri, attempted to smuggle — or, according to her, was tricked into smuggling — 756 grams of cocaine into Australia's Sydney Airport using the heels of her shoes. To our surprise, this stuff happens all the time. Around the same time last year, a man tried to pass $67k worth of cocaine through New York City's JFK Airport security inside his sneakers. As you can guess, he failed. As did, Woodrum, who on Thursday was sentenced to a maximum sentence of seven-and-a-half years in prison by the New South Wales District Court.
Woodrum claimed that during her stay in South America, where she was visiting prior to her attempted entrance into Sydney, she was coaxed online by a man going by the name of Hendrik Cornelius to deliver clothing to Australia through her luggage. According to authorities, she claimed she was unaware drugs were involved and told them that the arrangement "was supposed to be just clothes," the Australian Associated Press reported. Despite Woodrum insisting that she was a mere victim to an online scam, Judge Penelope Wass, who presided over her case, was unconvinced. Woodrum was found to be a willing participant in the crime and will be eligible for parole in four-and-a-half years.
Moral of the story? Think twice next time you consider buying chunky heels from strangers. Or better yet, don't conduct international business online with men who can't think up a more incognito pseudonym that Henrik Cornelius. Hey, better safe than sorry.