Teacher dies after swallowing cocaine bag in airport lounge
A Scottish teacher accidentally killed herself with a lethal overdose after she swallowed a bag of cocaine in a first-class airport lounge whilst waiting to fly home to Dubai.
Expat Victoria Buchanan, 42, ingested the resealable bag on 29 March last year when it is thought she realised she still had the drug in her p ossession.
The mother-of-three, originally from Kilmarnock, made the discovery whilst drinking a glass of champagne after she checked in with her luggage.
S h e h a d e a r l i e r a c q u i r e d £200 worth of the class A drug during a family visit to the UK with her husband Mark, who worked as a shipping company boss.
Ms Buchanan had £60 worth of cocaine left when she decided to swallow it. Ms Buchanan collapsed moments later with a severe seizure when the bag burst in her stomach. Onlookers at Manchester Airport initially believed Ms Buchanan was suffering from anaphylactic shock and administered an Epipen the teacher had in her handbag for a palm oil allergy.
Ms Buchanan later died at Wythenshawe Hospital.
The bag of cocaine was discovered during a p ost-mortem. Her elderly parents knew nothing of her drug taking.
Ms Buchanan had moved to Dubai in 2010 and worked as a teacher in the United Arab Emirates. She was known for helping imp overished chil - dren in Nepal through a charity set up to improve their education.
An inquest heard Ms Buchanan had spent a week in Britain with her family as part of her annual visit to the UK.
Her husband told the Manc h e s t e r h e a r i n g : “We we r e aware she would take small amounts of cocaine occasionally.”
H e a d d e d : “I f s o m e b o d y h a d a s k e d h e r t o s m u g g l e the cocaine, she would have refused. She wasn’t in a position to be blackmailed. I can say that 100 per cent, it wasn’t the intention. I definitely didn’t ask her to bring it back, I spoke to the police and we agreed it was the same bag. It originally cost about £200 and there was maybe £50 or £60 left in it.”
Dr Jon Hopper from Wythenshawe Hospital said: “The cardiac arrest lasted for one hour. She remained unconscious at the hospital with no response to s t i mul u s . . . [ a n d ] d i e d a t 6:24pm on 30 March. Dur - ing her post-mortem a plastic resealable bag was found in her stomach and it was ruled that further examination was required.”
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