eISSN: 1689-1716
ISSN: 0324-8267
Archiwum Medycyny Sądowej i Kryminologii/Archives of Forensic Medicine and Criminology
Current issue Archive Manuscripts accepted About the journal Supplements Editorial board Reviewers Abstracting and indexing Subscription Contact Instructions for authors Ethical standards and procedures
SCImago Journal & Country Rank
3/2019
vol. 69
 
Share:
Share:
abstract:
Case report

Unexpected deadly outcome of a body packer – a case of drowning and illegal drug trafficking with review

Amal N. Vadysinghe
1
,
Yapa Mudiyanselage Gedara I. Banda
2
,
Solokara Mudiyanselage Nirmani K. Thilakarathne
1
,
Liyanage Madhuka M. Liyanage
1

  1. Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
  2. Forensic Unit, Teaching Hospital Kurunegala, Kurunegala, Sri Lanka
Arch Med Sadowej Kryminol 2019; 69 (3): 129–136
Online publish date: 2020/04/08
View full text Get citation
 
PlumX metrics:
The human body is often used for illegal drug trafficking around the world. This may be done by concealing the drugs inside the body, so-called “body packing”. This can lead to life-threatening conditions, mainly by leakage of the illegal substances in lethal amounts into the circulation system, which may cause fatal consequences due to acute drug overdose. Most of these cases present as sudden unexpected deaths. However, we present herein a case in which the death of an unidentified victim, which was notified as a case of seawater drowning in a non-suspicious manner, but later proved to be the death of a body packer as a result of drowning due to a morphine overdose. This case highlights the importance of investigating deaths even in unidentified bodies and the different presentations of fatal consequences of a body packer, which previously have not been described in literature.
keywords:

body packing, drowning, drug trafficking, heroin, morphine

Quick links
© 2024 Termedia Sp. z o.o.
Developed by Bentus.