Man dies inflight after ingesting 246 packets of cocaine

A man died on an Aeromexico flight from Bogota to Narita, Japan, after he consumed 246 packets of cocaine, authorities in northern Mexico said.

The 42-year-old man, only identified as Udo N, was a Japanese national.

The prosecutor’s office for the Mexican state of Sonora said the man began convulsing and had a seizure after the plane made a stopover in Mexico City.

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“Flight attendants noticed a person suffering convulsions and requested permission to make an emergency landing in Hermosillo, Sonora,” read a statement from the office. “When the plane landed at 2:25 a.m. on Friday, paramedics boarded it and declared Udo N deceased.”

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An autopsy revealed that the man had swallowed the large amount of narcotics in packets measuring 1 cm x 2.5 cm. The cause of death was confirmed by the prosecutors as swelling of the brain due to a cocaine overdose.

The flight, carrying 198 other passengers, continued on to Japan after the man’s body was removed from the jetliner.

Illegal drugs are often carried by individuals — known as “mules” — either inside or on their person as part of the worldwide drug trade. In 2017, Global News obtained documents confirming that women have actually overtaken men as the largest smugglers of cocaine.

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The Canada Border Service Agency reports also indicate airports have become a more dominant entry route for cocaine trafficking.

The main transit points for cocaine seizures involving women in 2015 were Jamaica, St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic, according to the CBSA document.