title: Characteristic imaging features of body packers: a pictorial essay.
abstract: The drug-trafficking business has risen tremendously because of the current increased demand for illegal narcotics. The smugglers conceal the drugs in their bodies (body packers) in order to bypass the tight security at international borders. A suspected body packer will normally be sent to the hospital for imaging investigations to confirm the presence of drugs in the body. Radiologists, therefore, need to be familiar with and able to identify drug packets within the human body because they shoulder the legal responsibilities. This pictorial essay describes the characteristic imaging features of drug packets within the gastrointestinal tract.
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia, 43100 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. suzanhana@ymail.com
authors.forename: Suzana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ab Hamid
authors.forename: Saiful Nizam
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Abd Rashid
authors.forename: Suraini
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohd Saini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003415:Crime; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009294:Narcotics; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D009294:Narcotics