The officer, in Colombia’s capital Bogotá, allegedly teamed up with a colleague to threaten the business owner with false sexual allegations, The Guardian reports.

However, the business owner discreetly alerted anti-corruption officials, who arrived on scene shortly after he handed over the 500,000 pesos (around €110 or £95) in cash.

The police officer then attempted to swallow the nine bank notes to conceal the crime, but began choking and required medical attention.

A video recorded during the journey to hospital shows the gasping officer maintain: “I have received nothing, absolutely nothing, I don’t know what they are talking about.”

The notes were recovered by doctors and the officer was hospitalised for stomach treatment. He and his colleague now face prosecution.