Body Packer Death Due to Accidental Drug Overdose in Delhi, India: A Case Report

The authors reported a case of a body packer death due to heroin leakage in the stomach from a leaked package. The body packer was trying to transport the drug by hiding it in his gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The body was recovered after 6–7 days of the incident. A total of 50 egg-shaped packages were found in the body: 48 similar egg-shaped packages were found in the stomach, out of which one was leaked, one egg-shaped package was in the jejunum and one egg-shaped package was in the descending colon. The total weight of 50 capsules was 468 g. Toxicological analysis of the powder samples from the damaged package and the other 49 packages was performed and found positive for diacetyl morphine (heroin), monoacetyl morphine, caffeine, dextromethorphan and acetyl codeine. This case shows the difficulties during examination of a narcotic deceased postmortem and the importance of the history of the victim before the autopsy, a proper postmortem examination, the findings of toxicological tests and forensic photography. The cause of death was ‘acute drug overdose due to rupture of filled capsule in stomach’, which makes this case special. It indicates that body packing is an existing problem in India.