Two Peruvian men caught with cocaine in stomachs

Two Peruvian men were arrested at Thailand's main airport with a total of 1.9 kilograms (4.2 pounds) of cocaine in their stomachs, officials said Saturday.

Luis Alerpo Quispe Pina, 31 and Vicpop Marain Pulache Pina, 21, arrived Friday from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, customs chief Nat Suwanamethakul said at a news conference. As they passed through immigration, an X-ray machine detected what looked like hundreds of capsules in their stomachs, he said.

The suspects were arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport and given medicine to force the 250 capsules of cocaine from their stomachs, Nat said. Luis Pina later confessed they were hired to transport the drugs from Argentina to Thailand, he said.

The men are being detained under police custody pending formal charges on narcotic trafficking, Nat said. If a court finds them guilty, they would face a maximum sentence of death, he said.