Publication: Suspicious Case of a Body packer “Mule” in a Low Resource Country: A Case Report
Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nepal Medical Association
Abstract
Abstract:
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.
Description
Bibek Rajbhandari
Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, Nepal Police Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal
Olita Shilpakar
Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, NAMS, Bir Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal
Subash Thapa
Department of Radiology, Nepal Police Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal
Sumi Singh
Nepal Medical College, Kathmandu, Nepal
Keywords
complications, custody, illicit drugs, lethal