This is the chewdunnit moment when an airport security worker tries to gulp down USD 300 in cash she had just stolen from a passenger.
The uniformed guard is seen trying to chew her way through the banknotes as she washes it down with a bottle of water.
Apparently oblivious to a CCTV security camera filming her face on, she is seen cramming the notes into her mouth as fast as she can.
The extraordinary scene was filmed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the Philippines’s capital Manila, seconds after the cash had been taken.
A Chinese national going through security X-ray on 8th September complained after he noticed his wallet had been opened and a wad of US dollar bills removed.
Following a CCTV review, airport officials say they saw the suspect had “suspiciously turned away, with something obviously gripped in her left hand, clenched in a fist.”
She then swiftly placed something in the left side of her waist band and returned to the inspection table, says a statement released on 20th September.
They believe she tried to eat the cash because she feared she’d be searched after the passenger, named only as Cai, complained.
Airport officials say one of her bosses “appeared to be communicating with her, as she was apparently struggling to swallow the US dollar bills while using a handkerchief to cover her mouth.”
They added: “The X-ray machine operator and supervisor providing the water bottle appeared to condone her unlawful act, even aiding and abetting her in the commissioning of the crime.”
Airport authorities managed to catch up with Cai before he departed and informed him of their findings.
It is unclear if the airport worker has been sacked or faces criminal charges.
