Death of teacher who swallowed bag of cocaine 'accidental'

Victoria Buchanan ingested the bag of cocaine in an airport lounge

A mother-of-three who swallowed a bag of cocaine after she checked in at Manchester Airport accidentally killed herself, an inquest concluded.

Victoria Buchanan is thought to have ingested the drug after realising it was in her possession while waiting to fly home to Dubai in March last year.

Moments later she collapsed and was taken to hospital where she died.

Assistant coroner Andrew Bridge concluded her death was by misadventure.

Mrs Buchanan, 42, originally from Kilmarnock, Scotland, had moved to Dubai in 2010 and worked as a teacher in the United Arab Emirates, Manchester Coroner's Court heard.

She had earlier acquired £200 worth of the Class A drug during a family visit to the UK with her husband Mark.

The hearing was told she had been sitting drinking champagne in the first class airport lounge when she decided to swallow what was left in the hope of getting it back home.

She collapsed when the bag burst in her stomach.

Victoria was a recreational user of cocaine when she was in the UK, her husband said

Onlookers initially believed Mrs Buchanan was in anaphylactic shock and administered an EpiPen she had in her handbag for a palm oil allergy.

The re-sealable plastic bag of cocaine was discovered during a post-mortem examination.

Her husband told the hearing taking small amounts of cocaine "was something we did together" and she would not have smuggled the drug for another person.

Mrs Buchanan's mother Irene Dignon said: "We couldn't understand why she would risk something for such a small amount."

Mr Bridge said the cause of death was brain damage caused by cardiac arrest, which was brought on by cocaine intoxication.

"Why she took such a risk will never be known but I'm satisfied it was done of her own volition and there was no coercion or threat, there was no criminal activity and no charges have been brought," he said.