BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - A family nabbed with $1 million in cash stuffed in baggage and babies' diapers told Colombian customs authorities that the money had suddenly appeared along with an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

Colombia's Customs Department said that officers found U.S. dollars stuffed in baggage, children's clothing and even diapers after stopping a family of three adults and two minors at Bogota's international airport on Wednesday.

The Colombian nationals had arrived from Spain on an Iberia flight, and one of group's female members tried to explain the money by saying the Virgin Mary had appeared before the family and the greenbacks had simply fallen into their hands.

The adult members of the group were arrested.

It is illegal to bring more than $10,000 in cash into Colombia without declaring it and the authorities have stepped up efforts to crack down on illegal money entering the country, the world's biggest cocaine producer.

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001