Methamphetamine body packer: acute poisoning death due to massive leaking of methamphetamine

Abstract

We encountered three methamphetamine (MA) body packers presenting simultaneously, one of whom died. Three Nigerian men (39, 35, and 37 years old) who attempted to smuggle were found to contain 35 (498 g), 21 (292 g), and 5 packages (73 g) of methamphetamine hydrochloride (MA-HCl) in their stomachs, respectively. Packages were wrapped with plastic film and Scotch tape. The 39-year-old man died with acute poisoning from c. 20 g of MA-HCl that had leaked from the packages into the stomach. His plasma MA concentration was 8.6 microg/mL when he was hospitalized (17 h before his death). Autopsy findings showed extreme pulmonary congestion and edema as well as moderate hepatic edema and several petechiae. Quantitative analysis was performed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Extremely high concentrations of MA and its metabolite amphetamine (AP) were found in cardiac blood (63.5 microg/mL and 1.2 microg/mL), urine (4,518 microg/mL and 72.4 microg/mL), gastric contents (8,490 microg/mL and 16.9 microg/mL), and in all other autopsy samples. These high concentrations confirmed that the cause of death was acute MA poisoning. Furthermore, impurity-profiling analysis of the seized MA revealed that the MA smuggled by the three suspects originated from the same batch.