Fatality in a body packer: the first reported case in Saudi Arabia

Background Body packers use different methods and materials to pack drugs inside their bodies. These could be simple or sophisticated to ensure a successful transfer or concealment of the drug with minimal risk to the packer. Different drugs were reported with cocaine and heroin being the most common. The packer presents to health facilities whenever they develop complications like drug leakage or intestinal obstruction, or they can be detected after a fatal event as an incidental finding in autopsy. Case presentation A body packer who was in detention suffered pain and died shortly after that. The autopsy not only revealed severe coronary atherosclerosis but also unveiled 10 rubber packages filled with methamphetamine and cannabis, and one package was found ruptured in the mouth. Toxicological analysis showed a blood level of methamphetamine 3.66 mg/L which was considered a cause of death. While methamphetamine was reported in cases of body packers, cannabis is rarely concealed by body packers for several reasons including its cost compared to the risk of packing. Conclusions This is the first reported case of fatality in body packers in Saudi Arabia and Arab countries. This should put into consideration the need for screening suspicious cases who are involved or suspected to be involved with drugs. Effective screening in specific facilities is needed to reduce fatalities and at the same time lowering drug smuggling.

Body packing: tráfico de drogas y cirugía. Reporte de un caso.

Objetivo: Exponer el caso de un paciente con intoxicación aguda por cocaína en contexto de un “Body Packer Syndrome”, considerando sus aspectos médico-quirúrgicos y legales.Materiales y Método: Se obtuvo la ficha clínica, con resguardo de anonimato, de un paciente que acude al Servicio de Urgencia (SU) y que es intervenido y evolucionado posteriormente en el Hospital el Pino de San Bernardo, Chile.Resultados: Paciente fue sometido a una gastrotomía, una enterotomía y una colotomía después de haber sido estabilizado por paro cardiorrespiratorio presentado en SU. Es trasladado a Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos (UCI) donde evoluciona desfavorablemente.Discusión: El “Body Packer Syndrome” es una entidad clínica infrecuente que, en la minoría de los casos, puede presentar complicaciones severas que requieren de un tratamiento médico-quirúrgico inmediato.Conclusión: Considerando que tanto el consumo como el tráfico de drogas se mantienen como un importante problema de salud pública y que sus consecuencias pueden ser devastadoras, es importante tener conocimiento sobre el tema.

Clinical and forensic aspect’s of the cocaine body packer in senegal

This study aims to describe the clinical and forensic features of the cocaine body packer in Senegal.This research work is a retrospective and descriptive study. It was conducted based on 19 suspect cases attended for medical care at the Hospital of tambacounda. Suspects were exclusively male subjects, aged 24 to 33 years and Nigerian citizens. All of them were asymptomatic. Pelvic touch was positive in 42.1% of cases. Abdominal radiography pointed out that all the suspects presented with damage (100%). The average number of drug pellets carried per person was 43+/- 20 units. Body drug packing is a reality in Senegal. Narcotic drug policies should invest in capacity building by financing effective diagnostic tools.

Suspicious Case of a Body packer “Mule” in a Low Resource Country: A Case Report

Body packing is the process of smuggling illicit drugs in the form of packages concealed within the gastrointestinal tract via ingestion or inserting into body orifices. These individuals are described as “body packers”, “stuffers”, “mules” or “swallowers” and resort to carrying drugs like heroin, cocaine and cannabis. They present to the hospital following the development of complications or brought dead due to the rupture of packets or directly from detention for further investigations. This case illustrates a suspected case detained from the airport who was found to be carrying 93 pellets of an illicit drug, heroin, weighing 900 grams, one of the highest quantity carried by any body packer in the country till date. This case further sheds light on the fact that a meticulous history, detailed clinical examination and radiographic investigations like abdominal radiograph and imaging are the keys to diagnose body packers in a resource limited setting.

Detection of Heroin and Noscapine in Bile Specimen in a Body Packer

The article's abstract is no available.