CALIFORNIA: A woman accused of smuggling meth into Hawaii was caught by police in California then later died. But it wasn’t your average drug bust. Police discovered the California resident hid the drugs in her vagina.
Melissa Ann Ngaue, 33, was arrested at the Marina Del Rey Hospital in Los Angeles on November 11th. Ngaue never made it to Maui, but her bags did, and sources say Maui police were contacted to search through her luggage for more drugs. She reportedly told police she was supposed to get $2,000 for the transport.
Documents obtained by Los Angeles airport police say when officers responded to a narcotics investigation at Terminal 4, they found a white substance resembling methamphetamine packaged in a vacuum-sealed bag, which was found in a toilet near Ngaue. She reportedly told police she placed eight bags in her vagina.
Queen’s Medical Center Emergency Room Doctor Daniel Cheng said these cases are common.
“In these particular cases, unfortunately most of the time, when they do rupture, they tend to be fatal because they’re such high doses inside. So if packages open up, they tend to be fatal,” Cheng said.
The report said the substance tested positive for methamphetamine. It was nearly 237 grams, which is equivalent to 8.46 ounces or half a pound.
Hawaii News Now law enforcement expert Tommy Aiu was a federal agent for 30 years and a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent for 26 of them. He said although this happens a lot, it is the quantity that makes this case particular shocking.
“A junkie or meth user would take maybe like a quarter gram at a time. This is the whole 236 grams and it’s a tremendously toxic amount of substance and the person probably just overdoses automatically,” Aiu said.
The report said during the flight from Phoenix to Los Angeles, Ngaue began to bleed and she was in a lot of pain, which caused her so much discomfort she had a difficult time walking. Once at LAX, Ngaue reportedly went to the bathroom and began to flush the packages down the toilet.
At the hospital, Ngaue reportedly told police two men were going to meet her and that is when she was supposed to give them the packages. It is unknown who those two men are.
A GoFundMe page posted online said Ngaue unexpectedly passed away on Friday November 13th in Los Angeles. A phone call to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office said her autopsy was done on the 22nd and results are still pending.
