In Las Vegas, man charged with carrying cocaine -- internally

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This is the kind of true-crime story that’s a little hard to stomach.

Federal prosecutors in Las Vegas charged a German man this week with trying to board a plane to London with 1.2 kilograms of cocaine hidden in his upper digestive system, the U.S. attorney’s office in Nevada has reported. If convicted, Christopher Adiegwu faces between five and 40 years in prison and a $5-million fine.

On Aug. 17, prosecutors said, authorities at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas became suspicious that Adiegwu, 43, was carrying narcotics. Adiegwu, who was scheduled to board a Virgin airlines flight, was taken to a local hospital instead, where X-rays showed he’d ingested several dozen one-inch plastic pellets, prosecutors said.

We’ll let the U.S. attorney’s office explain what happened next.

“Following the administration of a laxative,” a news release said, “Adiegwu eliminated approximately 81 plastic pellets containing cocaine.”

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--Ashley Powers in Las Vegas
Twitter.com/ashleypowers