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Man Who Died On Aer Lingus Flight Had ‘2lbs Of Cocaine In His Stomach’

A 24-year-old man who bit another passenger on an Aer Lingus flight died after cocaine pellets burst in his stomach.

John Kennedy Santos Gurjao was carrying almost 2lbs of cocaine – with a street value of £41,000 – inside his stomach, according to the post-mortem.

The Brazilian, who was travelling from the Portuguese capital of Lisbon to Dublin on Sunday evening, became violent during the flight, biting another passenger who attempted to restrain him.

After suffering a seizure, he was pronounced dead at Cork airport, where the plane was diverted, shortly before 6pm.

A woman he was travelling with was arrested under the Drug Trafficking Act, after police allegedly found amphetamines in her luggage.

According to the port-mortem, drugs were wrapped in 80 pellets in the man’s stomach. He became ill after one burst.

John Kennedy Santos Gurjao died after becoming agitated on the Aer Lingus flight (Facebook)

This morning a family member of Gurjao posted a tribute on Facebook. Euziane Gurjao Ferreira wrote: “How much longing and sadness I will feel.

"I have lost a part of me. I don’t understand, why you? But I know that God knows.

"Happiness is the only word that describes what you are, was and always will be.”

John Leonard, a passenger on the flight, told the Irish Mirror: “The noise he was making was like something I have never heard before.

"Not screaming in a sense you know if you’d hurt yourself or something, just a very guttural, from deep within him.”

It is believed Gurjao was going to study English in Dublin.

(Credit: Adrian Pingstone)