Woman who ingested 24 heroin pellets arrested at airport

RCMP border agents say they may have saved a life by seizing dozens of heroin pellets ingested by a passenger at the Calgary International Airport.

A 38-year-old woman is facing drug charges after officers found her with more than 1,300 grams of heroin.

That’s enough to make more than 13,000 doses of the drug, the Canada Border Services Agency said.

Mylene Estrada-Del Rosario, communications officer with the agency, said the woman was carrying some of the drugs in her suitcase, but also ingested a large amount of the substance, including 24 compressed pellets of the narcotic.

Police said the woman is from Tanzania and travelled to Calgary from South Africa.

She was arrested Nov. 22 after border agents became suspicious. RCMP Const. Mike Hibbs said a search of the suitcase revealed a false bottom, where the drugs were reportedly stashed.

Estrada-Del Rosario said the woman was interviewed twice by agents and admitted to ingesting the pellets after investigators found the drugs in her suitcase.

The woman was taken to hospital as a precaution, Estrada-Del Rosario said.

“Ultimately, our CBSA officers saved her life,” she said. “This is a dangerous practice, so she could have died.”

The agency said the woman was a traveller at the airport at the time of the arrest, adding the drug bust is “an excellent example of the strong partnership between the CBSA and the RCMP.”

RCMP Sgt. Ryan Smart said opiates and opioids such as heroin and fentanyl continue to be very popular street drugs, and are “the most lethal” due to the high risk of overdose.

Mariam Salehe, 38, has been charged with importation of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

She is scheduled to appear in a Calgary courtroom on Friday.