Woman dies after swallowing 31 parcels of cocaine

A CALL for help led to the arrest of a Namibian citizen on Tuesday afternoon after his wife died and Police discovered 31 parcels of cocaine weighing 410 grams in her stomach.

The couple had reportedly arrived in Namibia from Brazil on Tuesday. The woman, 26-year-old Darlin da Silva Paiva, became ill on the plane.After arriving at their home in Windhoek, her husband apparently called for an ambulance, as her condition had become steadily worse.However, the woman had already died when the ambulance arrived, Police Warrant Officer James Matengu said yesterday.This led to Police being called to the scene, and a mortuary investigation later revealed that the women had swallowed 31 parcels of cocaine with a street value of about N$205 000.Police found that her 29-year-old husband had also swallowed 13 parcels of cocaine weighing 175 grams and valued at N$87 500.This brought the total value of cocaine confiscated in the incident to N$292 500.The man has been arrested and charged with drug dealing.He is set to make his first appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court today.The woman, 26-year-old Darlin da Silva Paiva, became ill on the plane.After arriving at their home in Windhoek, her husband apparently called for an ambulance, as her condition had become steadily worse.However, the woman had already died when the ambulance arrived, Police Warrant Officer James Matengu said yesterday.This led to Police being called to the scene, and a mortuary investigation later revealed that the women had swallowed 31 parcels of cocaine with a street value of about N$205 000.Police found that her 29-year-old husband had also swallowed 13 parcels of cocaine weighing 175 grams and valued at N$87 500.This brought the total value of cocaine confiscated in the incident to N$292 500.The man has been arrested and charged with drug dealing.He is set to make his first appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court today.