Imaging unveils internal secrets of drug traffickers

April 30, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Imaging unveils internal secrets of drug traffickers Emergency departments increasingly must deal with side effects of intestinal concealment of illicit drugs BY SABINE SCHMIDT, M.D., PIERRE SCHNYDER, M.D., AND JEAN-YVES MEUWLY, M.D. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The proliferation of narcotics use over the past decades has been accompanied by a rise in drug smuggling. Meticulous vigilance by international customs and national authorities has led traders to adopt sophisticated and ingenious methods of drug transport. The smuggler's own body, especially the gastrointestinal tract, is now being used frequently as a vehicle for transporting narcotics. This intestinal concealment of illicit drugs, such as cocaine, marijuana, hashish, or heroin, can lead to complex health problems should the package contents leak.1-6 Modern-day emergency departments increasingly need to deal with the dangerous side effects of both the "body stuffing" of street dealers and the "body packing" of drug traffickers. Radiology can play an important role in the identification of such packages and the management of these patients.

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