A case report on body packing involving heroin capsules inserted rectal

Background: Body packing is a frequent technique used to aid the international trade of illicit drugs. When Delhi Police arrested a person, they found 28 cylindrical capsules weighing a total of 292 grams inside their rectum, all of which were knotted with thread. This was reported as an illicit drug material case. Methods: There were 66 exhibits, with two different types of colored materials. Of these, 31 had powdery materials with an off-white color and granules, and 35 had semisolid materials with a light brownish color. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and Gas chromatography-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis were utilized to enable simultaneous analysis of illegal chemicals using routine methods in the Forensic Science Laboratory, Delhi. Results: The GC-MS report indicated a specific peak at a retention time of approximately and a concentration of 1 mg/ml for the standard drug ISTD. The specific peak observed at retention times of 16.61 and 9.61 for diacetylmorphine and caffeine, respectively, was recorded and considered a positive confirmation of heroin use. The major concentrations of drug components in the off-white powder material for diacetylmorphine and caffeine were observed in the range of 46.3–65.1 mg/ml and 0.008–0.019 mg/ml, respectively. However, the concentrations of diacetylmorphine and caffeine in light brownish-colored pasty material were observed in the range of 20.2–61.4 mg/ml and 0.011–0.036 mg/ml, respectively. The identity of the analyte was confirmed by matching its MS spectrum with that of the derivatized standards. Conclusions: We present a case of heroin body-packing. Illegal narcotics can enter the human body through body packing, pushing, and stuffing. The evaluation of the illicit drugs concluded that the off-white powder material had a high concentration of diacetylmorphine and a low concentration of caffeine compared with the light brown powder material.