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Case Reports
. 2005 Jun 30;151(1):81-4.
doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2004.07.005.

The risk of body packing: a case of a fatal cocaine overdose

Steven A Koehler  1 , Shaun Ladham, Leon Rozin, Abdulrezak Shakir, Bennet Omalu, Joseph Dominick, Cyril H Wecht
Affiliations
Case Reports

The risk of body packing: a case of a fatal cocaine overdose

Steven A Koehler et al. Forensic Sci Int. .

Abstract

The process of swallowing or inserting illegal packets of drugs for the purpose of evading law enforcement officers carries risks other than criminal charges. It can be fatal. Individuals engaged in such activities are called "Body Packers" or "Mules". The most frequent cause of the death among body packers is acute drug intoxication due to rupture of the package(s) within the gastrointestinal tract. We present the first documented case of a body packer that died from cocaine intoxication following the rupture of packets of cocaine in Western Pennsylvania.

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