A MAN who became ill on a flight and forced a diversion to Shannon Airport was found to have a large amount of cocaine in his stomach. The man, who was on a plane bound for the US, has been vomiting small parcels of cocaine and is under guard in Ennis General Hospital.
The young man, believed to be Jamaican, was on an American Airlines flight. It had left Heathrow Airport, London and was bound for New York on Sunday evening. After he became ill the crew requested permission to divert to Shannon. It landed shortly before 6 p.m.
The man was brought to Ennis hospital where he began vomiting the packets of cocaine, which were wrapped in cellophane. Doctors at the hospital alerted gardai and the man has been under guard since then.
A garda at Ennis Garda station said last night the man had vomited a substantial amount of cocaine but there was still a number of packets in his stomach. It is believed one of them burst after the flight left Heathrow.