If only he'd hidden it in his Stashitwear, these ladies wouldn't be so lucky. (Photo Credit: ThinkStock)

If you live or have ever traveled in countries where petty theft is conducted openly on busy streets, you know it’s important to take protective measures against pickpockets. Travel belts are available to protect your money and identification, but they’re often uncomfortable, unfashionable and just scream “tourist.” Stashitwear, on the other hand, provides security, secrecy and (allegedly) comfort. The hidden-compartment underwear is so convenient, in fact, that law enforcement is worried that drug traffickers will start ordering the secret drawers in bulk.

Stashitwear being used to conceal drugs, weapons

The Wall Street Journal reports that New York police have discovered that drug dealers are now using Stashitwear to conceal small amounts of narcotics and small caliber firearms. More thorough searches of suspects are required, said Police Capt. Vincent Patti of Brooklyn, N.Y. Stashitwear owner Phillip Scott, 55, told the WSJ that none of his customers gave “even a hint at illegal activity for their purchases.”

However, Patti doesn’t buy Scott’s excuse.

“A lot of drugs or a small .38 or .22 caliber handgun… They’re not advertising these things for drug dealers but they have to know they’re going to be used by some people who break the law.”

Stash it in style

Florida-based Stashitwear and similar secret-compartment underwear companies offer styles ranging from briefs and boxers to thongs. One pair sells for $14, although wholesale purchases can reduce that price considerably, says Scott. The secret pocket is accessible through a six- to eight-inch opening in the waistband, and the pocket itself can be 12 inches deep, depending upon the size of the garment.

The pocket runs from front to back, which means, according to Stashitwear, that this “basically makes your whole crotch area a secret place for your valuables.”

Scott has changed the Stashitwear website

In an effort to reflect his personality, Scott’s photo on the Stashitwear website used to be one of him in back country attire. Since the Wall Street Journal contacted him following NYPD concern over the product, Scott put on sunglasses and business dress clothes for a new photo. Thankfully, the hidden compartment underwear remains the same.

Sources:

Wall Street Journal

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/damselfly58/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

How far will some women go to get the luxurious materials in life? Would they go through great sacrifice just to get dazzling diamonds and fancy cars? In this tale of love and money, a woman shares her story after living the past eight years of her life with one of the most notorious drug lords in Columbia, Wilber Varela.

The Beauty and the Beast

Yovanna Guzman, a former beauty queen and model, says she was only 19 when she met Wilber Varela, who she says claimed to be a wealthy cattle rancher at the time. It was not until she saw a Wanted poster with a mug shot of Varela that she found out the truth about her lover. He wooed her with expensive gifts, luxurious apartments, and multiple vacation trips around the world. Guzman was given nothing but the finest things drug money or any amount of personal loans can buy.

Wilber Varela, a former police agent who went and sought a life in the drug trafficking world, became one of the most brutal cocaine traffickers. He was head of the North Valle Cartel, one of the most powerful drug cartels in the industry.

“He had two faces. I saw him so tender with the ones he loved, then you see the cartel killings. He always said he was the best of friends and the worst of enemies,” Guzman said in a recent interview with CNN.

Police authorities accused Varela of distributing large supplies of cocaine to the United States using speedboats and employed jet planes to send business to Europe. According to a RICO indictment issued in the District Court of the District of Columbia, Varela and his thugs exported approximately 500 metric tons of cocaine worth in excess of $10 billion from Colombia to the US between 1990 and 2004, according to Wikipedia.

The Real Wilber Varela

Yovanna Guzman had all the finest things drug money can buy. (Photo: Wikimedia.org)

Young and beautiful, Yovanna Guzman was “dazzled” by all the fancy gifts Varela showered her with. Who needs personal loans when you are the prized jewel of a wealthy mobster? Materially, she had everything she needed, thanks to her infamous drug king lover. But after the party was over and reality settled in, the perfect dream come true turned into a living nightmare.

“Of course, the luxuries don’t make you fall in love, but they do dazzle you. When you get dazzled, you get carried away, but then you ask yourself where is the love and my principles?”

It was not long before Wilber Varela decided to lock his beautiful possession away from the world. According to the CNN news report, Yovanna Guzman was no longer allowed to model and associate with any male friends, despite the fact he catered to a number of female companions throughout their relationship. She belonged to him and no one else. Guzman said that Varela’s jealousy became so bitter and strong to the point he even ordered one of his lieutenants to shoot her in the leg.

“When I got shot, I was supposedly never going to walk properly again. The bullet could easily have hit me somewhere else and killed me. But I pulled myself together and I said I’m not going to be crippled,” she said.

A Fallen Villain – Rise of a New Story

Wilber Varela aka Jabón (“Soap”) died last year, slain by the hands of an inside man who hungered for the same power and riches.

“[When I heard the news], I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. Varela had his good side, but my freedom doesn’t have a price,” she said. “I felt the golden cage had been flung open, and I could fly again.”

Yovanna Guzman is currently writing a book detailing the events that took place in the dangerous love affair that is now capitalizing headlines. She hopes to share her experience with other young women in search of easy money. Whether or not her new life will require personal loans is another story.

Related Video:

(Viewer discretion is advised)