Colombian police officer sparks meme fest after swallowing money he had extorted. Watch viral video here!

In Colombia, a police officer had to be hospitalised after swallowing a wad of banknotes. The policeman reportedly did this to avoid getting caught in the middle of an extortion case.

As per a report in The Guardian, in return for not arresting his victim on false charges, the police officer had demanded a bribe from a businessman.

However, unknown to him, the businessman had already reported the shakedown to Colombia's anti-kidnapping and extortion unit.

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'Hungry Hungry' Hippospolice officer

When anti-corruption investigators arrived at the scene of the shakedownin the suburb of Soacha near the capital, Bogotá, the officer hastily swallowed the cash in an attempt to destroy the evidence.

Was he successful in destroying evidence?

No, unfortunately for him, the banknotes got lodged in his throat, obstructing his airways and sending him to the emergency room.

Videos circulating online captured the pale-faced officer protesting his innocence while sitting in a police van after swallowing nine notes. In the video, the police officer can be seen visibly in discomfort, coughing to try to dislodge the notes stuck in his throat.

Even as he recoils and gasps for breath, in the video, the officer can be heard saying: "I have received nothing, absolutely nothing, I don't know what they are talking about."

Despite his pleas, the evidence against him was substantial.

One anti-corruption officer can be heard stating, "We'll have to take him to the hospital to get him cleaned."

Anti-corruption officers provided emergency medical assistance to the choking officer, who was subsequently transported to a hospital for treatment.

How much money did he swallow?

Doctors were able to remove the 500,000 pesos (£95) worth of banknotes, but the officer remained hospitalised to receive stomach-related treatment.

Talking to Blu Radio, the director of the Cundinamarca Prosecutor's Office, Carlos Manuel Silva, revealed that the uniformed officer swallowed "a 100,000 bill and eight 50,000-peso bills, totalling 500,000 pesos."

Notes of strong material

The local attorney's office emphasised the durability of paper money, stating that it is not easily digested.

"The material with which the bills are made is a strong material, it is paper money and it is not easily digested," said the director of the local attorney's office while talking to local reporters.

The meme fest

This audacious corruption incident has sparked a wave of memes online — many of them Simpsons-themed — mocking the officer's ill-fated attempt to evade justice.

Take a look at some of the best satirical memes:

What will happen to the corrupt police officer?

As per Bogotá's Blu Radio, the officer and a colleague allegedly used false accusations of a sexual crime to force the business owner into coughing up a total of twomillion pesos.

Even though the victim managed to gather half of the demanded amount, the officer was unsatisfied and subsequently detained the individual at a police station for two hours in an attempt to extort the remaining funds.

Both officers are now the subject of a criminal investigation, according to the local prosecutor's office.

Colombia and corruption

The Guardian reports that corruption within Colombia's police force is a pervasive issue. This incident seems to have provided a twisted sense of pleasure to many extortion victims, who in the past have been forced to pay bribes to uniformed officers.

(With inputs from agencies)

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