Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Police: Pennsylvania Woman Hid 54 Bags of Heroin, Money in Her Vagina

Cavity search produces over 50 bags of heroin, say policeDavid Lohr - Authorities in Pennsylvania arrested a 27-year-old woman who they say hid more than 100 items -- including 54 bags of heroin and loose change -- in her vagina.

Investigators took Karin Mackaliunas into custody last weekend after she was involved in a motor vehicle crash, according to police in Scranton. Officers in nearby Dunmore heard about the accident and, suspecting that she had been involved in the recent burglary of a local inn, asked Scranton police to detain Mackaliunas for questioning.

During a routine search, Scranton police Officer Nancy Baumann found three bags of heroin inside Mackaliunas' coat, records show. Baumann placed Mackaliunas in the back of the patrol car and was taking her to police headquarters when she noticed Mackaliunas fidgeting. The two women then got into a struggle, after which Mackaliunas asked to speak with another officer, whom she told she had "hidden more heroin in her vagina," according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators took Mackaliunas to Community Medical Center for further examination, police said. Doctors there retrieved "up 54 bags of heroin, 31 empty bags used to package heroin, 8.5 prescription pills and $51.22" during a cavity search, according to the criminal complaint.

Mackaliunas was jailed on $25,000 bail on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of possession of a controlled substance, police said.

She is expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing sometime today. It is not clear whether she has an attorney.

via Police: Pennsylvania Woman Hid 54 Bags of Heroin, Money in Her Vagina.

If you count the atoms, she probably hid billions of items up there.  Here's hoping Karin gets some help to recover and get back on the right track.  Getting busted may end up saving her life if she turns it around.
Heroin (known on the streets as horse, smack, big H, black tar, caballo, junk, TNT, skag, chiva, gear, Evil, "H", and "Boy") is a highly addictive drug made from the opium poppy. - link

University of Adelaide researchers have made a breakthrough in the treatment of heroin addiction which could improve treatment success rates for millions of heroin users around the world.  Researchers in the Discipline of Pharmacology have discovered a genetic variation that may help determine the most effective methadone dosage levels for individual heroin addicts. The genetic discovery reveals why some people are either less efficient or more effective in distributing drugs throughout their body to the central nervous system. Lead researcher Dr Janet Coller says accurate dosing of methadone is essential to successfully treat drug addicts because up to 62% fail to remain in the methadone program due to the severe withdrawal symptoms. "Individualised dosing may decrease the incidence of withdrawal symptoms in some people and therefore encourage them to continue with the methadone treatment." An estimated 10 million people worldwide are heroin dependent, including 74,000 Australians, incurring enormous health, social and economic costs. "More than 40,000 people are undergoing methadone treatment in Australia and only 38% of them are staying in the program at the moment. Most drop out at the start of the treatment when the withdrawal effects are severe," Dr Coller says.

via Jan. 29, 2007ScienceDaily

 

2 comments:

Sam said...

Well... She's definitely on the wrong path... but I kind of admire her resourcefulness and commitment. You know, kind of. I get the feeling that in another life she might have been a good spy. All that was missing was a cyanide capsule.

Ann said...

Heroin made a come back in the U.S. since the mid-1990s, after it kind of died out in the 1980s with cocaine's increasing popularity (like "crack"). Why do these trends occur? Part of the answer comes from the sources of these drugs and their relationship with the U.S. gov't. During the 1980s, Reagan's war in Central America (which Congress declared illegal) was aided by Colombian narco traffickers. (No secret; no conspiracy.) And, after the Soviet Union went belly-up in 1989, the U.S. showed interest in oil in the Caspian Sea region and befriended warlords who had interest in poppy production. (Information about this is available online from well documented sources, but you'll have to look for it. But, still it's no "conspiracy" only part of U.S. war policies. The U.S. made allies with locals who dealt with poppies and heroin during the Vietnam war.) Befriending drug suppliers for assistant means the gov't either turned a blind eye at trafficking or even aided the traffickers. In the 1990s heroin swept into Russia and Ukraine, in the end taking lots of lives, not only from the drug itself but also from the then new and fast-growing AIDS epidemic.