Brazilian student died after cocaine pellets burst inside him on flight to Dublin

A 24-year-old Brazilian student who died trying to smuggle almost a kilo of cocaine into Ireland had over four times the fatal level of the drug in his system after a pellet ruptured inside him, an inquest has heard.

John Kennedy Santos Gurgao died after taking ill aboard an Aer Lingus flight from Lisbon to Dublin on the afternoon of October 18th 2015 when one of 113 cocaine pellets, which he had ingested, ruptured in the area between his duodenum and his rectum.

Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said toxicology tests on Mr Gurjao found he had a cocaine level of 20 microgrammes per millilitre of blood which was over four times the average level found in another 37 other fatal cases.

Coroner for South Cork, Frank O'Connell, said Mr Gurjao, from Rua Cassiano Germino, Barrio Felicinade, Calçoene in Amapá in Brazil, died from accidental cocaine poisoning involving a massively high concentration of cocaine in his system.

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Witness Olga Pinto told how she met Mr Gurgao at Lisbon Airport and he was sweating profusely and highly agitated but she thought this was because his visa was due to expire that day and he was trying to get back to Dublin to resume studying English and feared he might be refused entry.

Cabin Crew member Orla MacCarvill told how they were 45 minutes into the flight when she became aware of a disturbance. A man started climbing over the seats and standing on passengers to try and get to the toilet at the rear of the plane.

She told him to stop but he ignored her so she informed the captain and co-pilot before making her way with other cabin crew to the toilet area. There she found the man emerging from the cubicle in a wobbly, agitated state, shouting in Portuguese.

Ms Pinto translated and told them that he was looking for medicines in his bag. He took two tablets from a foil pack but wouldn’t hand the pack over to them, said Ms MacCarvill, adding that he made to try and throw the tablets out a porthole.

He continued to be agitated before getting what seemed like a seizure so they appealed over the intercom for medical personnel to assist. Two nurses and a doctor responded and came to the back of the plane to assist.

Nurse Keith Carroll told how they gave Mr Gurgao oxygen and he fell unconscious but continued breathing. He seemed to stabilise but then woke up and bit another passenger on the arm so cabin crew had to get restraints. Two cabin crew managed to handcuff him behind his back.

Ms Pinto said Mr Gurgao kept shouting “Help, help, I’m going to die” in Portuguese and she thought cabin crew were being too brutal when restraining him. She thought they had broken his arm but evidence was given he had not suffered any fractures.

The inquest heard Mr Carroll, another nurse, Fiona Kirwan and Dr Michelle Brannigan continued to give Mr Gurgao CPR for over 40 minutes after he suffered a second seizure. A decision was made to divert to Cork Airport but he was was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Dr Bolster’s autopsy found Mr Gurgao had some bruising around his wrists where he had been handcuffed but he had suffered no fractures. There was no evidence that trauma played any part in his death, which was due solely to fatal levels of cocaine found in his system.

Det Garda Bríd Norris told the inquest gardaí established that the 113 pellets, which each measured almost three centimetres long by a centimetre in diameter, totalled 961 grammes of cocaine, just under a kilo of the drug, and had a street value of €70,000.

Mr O’Connell praised the medical personnel on the flight for their heroic efforts to save Mr Gurgao but said that, tragically, he was doomed given that a cocaine pellet had ruptured and he had suffered a massive dose of cocaine poisoning while in the air. Nothing more could have been done to save him.