Drug courier who swallowed cocaine stable in hospital

A drugs courier was under Garda surveillance at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, last night after he was found to have swallowed around 100 capsules of cocaine in an effort to smuggle them into the State.

The man, a 40-year-old, non-national with an address in Amsterdam, disembarked a flight at Dublin Airport from Amsterdam yesterday afternoon, and admitted to gardaí that he had swallowed the drugs.

He is believed to have ingested around half a kilo of cocaine, which has an estimated street value of €60,000.

The man was questioned and then transferred to Beaumont in order that his condition could be monitored. His condition was said to be stable last night.

A second man, believed to be from Nigeria, was also detained at the airport, and was questioned at Santry Garda station under the Drug Trafficking Act.

It is understood the man being held in Beaumont was also African, but had told gardaí he was resident in the Netherlands.

Last December an international drugs courier died in Limerick from an accidental overdose of cocaine which he had been attempting to smuggle to the Netherlands.

The 19-year-old from Estonia, had swallowed almost a kilo of cocaine before boarding a KLM flight from Peru to Amsterdam.

He died after some of the 94 capsules of the drug in his stomach leaked into his system during the flight.

The aircraft was diverted to Shannon Airport after the man complained of feeling unwell and admitted he had swallowed drugs. He was taken from the aircraft by ambulance to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick, where he died.

Revenue recently said the most notable trend in its operations at Irish airports last year was the increase in cocaine seizures. In 2002 there were 22 seizures totalling 19.5kg, almost double the number in 2001.

Of those seizures, six involved internal concealments i.e. drugs that had been swallowed or placed inside the bodies of drugs couriers to evade detection. The problem has increased so much of late that customs and excise has built a special "drugs loo" at Dublin Airport.

Internal concealment is a very dangerous practice as many couriers have died when packages have leaked inside their bodies.