MEXICO.- An unusual scene occurred last Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in a Coppel store located inside Plaza Patio, in Saltillo, Coahuila. A woman was discovered trying to steal merchandise using a method as ingenious as it was fraudulent: she pretended to be pregnant to hide multiple garments under her dress.
The video of the incident, which quickly went viral on social networks such as TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), shows the moment when store security personnel confront the suspect. When intercepted, the woman adopted a defensive posture and initially denied any crime, asking not to be touched. However, when she was cornered and recorded by several people, she agreed to show what she was hiding.
What appeared to be an advanced pregnancy belly turned out to be an ingenious disguise to hide stolen clothing. Under her dress, she hid at least 10 jeans and several T-shirts, all perfectly rolled up and fastened inside an oversized undergarment, specially designed to simulate the “belly”.
This type of method, used mainly by women, is commonly known as the “farderismo” technique, and those who use it are called “farderas“. It is an illegal practice in which products are hidden among the garments to be stolen without paying.
During the video, the woman can be heard begging not to be assaulted as she removes, one by one, the clothes she had hidden. The scene unfolded in front of employees and customers who watched in amazement as he emptied his makeshift hiding place.
Some users expressed their outrage at the robbery and applauded the actions of the security personnel; others focused on the ingenuity of the method and compared it with other similar cases that occurred in different parts of the country. Humorous comments, memes and criticism about safety in shopping centers also emerged.
So far, it has not been confirmed if the woman was detained by the authorities or if she was just removed from the place. However, the case brings back to the table the issue of security in department stores and the increasingly creative and worrying ways in which some try to commit crimes without being detected.
This incident serves as a reminder that, in the digital age, any act can be recorded and shared in a matter of minutes, exposing the protagonists to millions of people around the world.
WITH INFORMATION FROM EXCELSIOR
