Man who died after police stop ‘had swallowed number of packages’

 A man whose death sparked protests and allegations of police brutality had swallowed “a number of packages”, a report found.

Edir Frederico Da Costa, 25, died six days after being detained by Metropolitan Police who stopped the car in which he was travelling.

Supporters claimed he had suffered a broken neck and head injuries after he was “brutally beaten” following the stop in Beckton, East London.

The police watchdog, which is investigating the death, has said that the pathologist recovered “a number of packages” from the man’s throat.

The preliminary post-mortem examination, which unusually was released midway through the investigation, also indicated no spinal injuries were caused by police.

Fourteen police officers were injured during protests in East London on Sunday night after Mr Da Costa’s death.

In a statement, Tom Milsom, associate commissioner of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, said the cause of death had not yet been identified nor the contents of the packages confirmed.

“Following a preliminary postmortem examination on June 22, the pathologist stated that there was no fracture of the neck or spinal injury, no broken collarbone and no bleeding on the brain,” he said.