Officials from the anti-narcotics cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police have developed an unusual interest: in looking at capsules lodged in a suspect’s intestines.
Their problem: the suspect, who allegedly swallowed capsules with cocaine, refuses to eat for fear that the capsules would emerge through defecation. Since he will not cooperate, the officials have now armed themselves with court orders to ferret out the capsules surgically.
The intestinal obsession began last Friday, when ANC officials received a tip-off that two Nigerians would turn up near the Jehangir Art Gallery to deliver cocaine. A trap was laid and, around 7pm, ANC officers spotted Kehinde Rotimi, 20, and associate Yaya Olarevaju, 22.
The two were apprehended by police inspector Mrityunjay Hiremath of the cell's Bandra unit, but before more officers could reach the spot Rotimi swallowed three capsules. Officers found 5gm of cocaine with Rotimi and 10gm with Olarevaju.
Hiremath rushed Rotimi to GT Hospital where an X-ray failed to locate the capsules. He was then moved to the JJ Group of Hospitals for a CT scan.
The scan showed the exact location of the capsules the man had swallowed: they were located near his small intestine.
Doctors at JJ advised the police to ask Rotimi to eat something so that the digestive process would help eject the capsules.
But Rotimi changed the script: he said he was going on a fast.
ANC officials assumed this was just a ruse, but Rotimi was made of sterner stuff and declined to eat or drink anything for three days and nights. Three or four police officers were continuously deployed at the hospital to keep watch on him, in case he managed to slip into the toilet unnoticed. But he refused to budge.
On Monday, though, the waiting game needed a change. A senior ANC officer said: "On Monday the doctor discovered that Rotimi’s condition was deteriorating and if he did not consume food, his condition would worsen.”
This time the doctors persuaded him to eat, but when a CT scan was performed, they discovered that one of the three capsules was lodged between the large and small intestines. If it was not removed, it could have resulted in serious complications.
Rotimi, however, said no to an operation. This was when ANC officials approached the Qila court with the medical reports. After going through the reports, the magistrate gave permission to perform an operation on Rotimi without his consent.
Sunil Paraskar, deputy commissioner of police, ANC, said: “We have been taking good care of Rotimi. When his condition started deteriorating and the doctor told us about the complications, we took permission from court to get him operated to save his life”.
Rotimi was scheduled to undergo the operation on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. He did, however, confess to swallowing cocaine — and so the result of the operation is only of medical and academic interest.
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