An inquest into the death of a teenager who swallowed a package of cocaine while in Garda custody heard that he had three times the fatal dosage of the drug in his blood.
Mr Derek Lehane (19) from Midleton, Co Cork, had 15 micrograms of cocaine per millilitre of blood in his system, the Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, told the inquest. He died later in hospital. She said that in 19 fatal cases resulting from ingestion of cocaine the average fatal dose was 5.3 micrograms. Bruising to his body and a cut inside his lip were consistent with his having had a seizure after taking the drug.
The inquest heard how Mr Lehane was arrested for drunk driving and taken to Midleton Garda station in January. During a search he shoved the plastic package containing cocaine into his mouth.
Garda Martin Hennigan said that while travelling to Midleton with Mr Lehane he believed he had a controlled substance in his possession from his conversation. In the station he was taken into a room to be searched. They were laughing and joking as Mr Lehane handed his clothes to him. "Suddenly he jumped into a corner and took something out of his underpants which he put into his mouth. We grabbed on to him but he was grinding his teeth and chewing. As we walked down the corridor I pleaded with him to spit it out. I told him it would kill him and he replied he did not give a f . . . ." said Garda Hennigan.
Replying to Supt Dan Mullins, Garda Hennigan said it was common for people to try to hide drugs by swallowing them. "We did not know what drug he had. We thought it might be ecstasy. This was the first time I ever came across cocaine," he said.
Earlier Garda Pat Organ said he saw Mr Lehane stopped at a roundabout with his motorbike as he was going to work at 6.30 a.m. At the station he and Garda
Hennigan and Garda O'Donoghue decided to look for him.
When they caught up with him near Glounthane Garda Organ said he believed Mr Lehane was drunk. A breathalyser test proved positive and he arrested him.
A barrister representing the the Lehane family, Mr David Goldberg, asked why not one of the gardai present tried to take the package out his mouth. Garda Organ replied: "We had no legal right to do so".
Dr Pat Kennedy, who was called to the station at 7 a.m. to take a fluid sample, said Mr Lehane was sitting on a chair in his jeans and his hands were handcuffed behind his back.
He was chewing something and appeared to be withdrawn. He was told Mr Lehane had stuffed a substance into his mouth about five to 10 minutes before his arrival and had refused when requested to spit it out.
He opted to give a blood sample following which he asked for a drink of water.
The doctor said he was concerned that Mr Lehane was still chewing. He told him to spit out what was in his mouth and he would give him a drink. Mr Lehane appeared to agree and went over to the toilet to spit it out when he fell to the floor and had a seizure.
The doctor described attempts he and the gardai made to resuscitate Mr Lehane until the ambulance arrived. He learned later he died at 9.30 a.m.
In cross-examination, Dr Kennedy said it was unusual for him to find a prisoner with his hands cuffed behind his back for a routine fluid sampling. He was told it was because Mr Lehane had stuffed something into his mouth which had been concealed on his person.
During the resuscitation attempt, Dr Kennedy extracted a small clear plastic bag from his mouth which had a tiny amount of brown substance. "I was shocked by the scenario as it unfolded" said Dr Kennedy. The bruising on Mr Lehane's body resulted from falling and twisting during the seizure, he said.
The jury found in accordance with medical evidence that Derek Lehane died from an overdose of cocaine and expressed its admiration of the manner in which the gardai and Dr Kennedy worked trying to save his life.
Cork City Coroner Mr Cornelius Riordan said it was a tragic case and Mr Lehane was the victim of the drug barons who trade on people's misery, making huge profits from that misery. He praised the gardai for the way they were fighting what he called this awful scourge.