Last week, Peruvian authorities arrested a gang of people for smuggling not drugs, guns or even fellow humans. They were arrested for attempting to smuggle human fat (ew!) into Europe to be used for cosmetic products (even more gross).
The group of criminals actually murdered dozens of unsuspecting farmers by luring them with job offers and then killing them in very horrific ways and stripping their body fat and handing them off to underground labs to be processed and sent to Europe to be used as anti-wrinkle creams and the like. According to the folks at the good ol’ BBC, the group has been at it for decades and at least 60 deaths have been attributed to the gang.
What’s even more weird and quite frankly horrifying is that there is apparently a black market for human fat. In other words, not only do we have to worry about people drugging us for our livers or kidneys, but we also have to watch out for our muffin tops, beer bellies and love handles. It would make for a great movie plot by a well respected Latin director (think Pablo Larrain) if it wasn’t true.
As for the accused, their ill-gotten wares were showcased at a press conference and to make things more surreal is the fact that the bust has been treated like a cocaine seizure, complete with the laying out of the stuff in neat rows (what is it with Latin police and making neat stacks of money or drugs like a jenga game in a pyramid or some other geometric shape?)