Border bust: Drug mule ate 3 pounds of cocaine
May 19, 2012, 8:31 AM | Updated: May 20, 2012, 9:33 pm
A U.S. Border Patrol officer questions a traveler heading into the United States from Canada. (AP photo)
(AP photo)
Canadian authorities arrested a man who raised
the suspicions of Border Security officers at the border’s
currency exchange on Friday. They saw his swollen stomach
and
thought he may have eaten drug filled balloons.
In fact, the man had eaten a total of 42 cocaine-
filled latex condoms.
“He was immediately arrested by Border Services officers
and escorted to a hospital, where the traveler’s health
could be monitored and the drugs obtained in a controlled
environment,” says St. John.
Medical examiners x-rayed the man once he was in custody
and saw the condoms in his stomach. After that, they had
to keep the suspect in custody until they came out
on their own. Sometimes the drug filled balloons can take
up to sixteen hours to pass through the gastrointestinal
tract.
At the hospital, authorities were able to measure the
weight of the 42 condoms at 2.8 pounds (1.26
kilograms) once they had all come out.
When doctors were sure that no condoms were left in the
man’s stomach, they confirmed the contents: liquid
cocaine.
“It is rare for officers to intercept narcotics that are
concealed this way,” explains officer St. John.
Usually it is very difficult for officers to find
smugglers who have eaten drugs like cocaine or heroine
because drug sniffing dogs cannot smell the balloons in
the smugglers’ stomachs.
“Ingesting narcotics as a means to smuggle is a drastic
and dangerous concealment method,” says Faith St. John, a
Canadian Border Security Officer.
Most of the time, smugglers are caught when a balloon
breaks inside their stomach and they start to overdose.
In this case, the suspect was not harmed and was turned
over to the Canadian Police for questioning.
