Doctors in Massachusetts Hospital Remove 27 Bags of Heroin Inside Man

A man pleaded not guilty for charges of heroin trafficking after doctors extracted 27 bags of heroin from inside a 51-year-old man. As much as 6 ounces of heroin was surgically removed, authorities said.

According to the Salem police, Miguel Rodriguez went to North Shore Medical Center to report sickness from a bad lobster that he had eaten. However, his symptoms matched that of opioid intoxication and was given Narcan to which his body responded well.

After recovering, Rodriguez informed the medical staff that he just came back from Dominican Republic where he consumed bags of heroin, Conrad Prosniewski, Capt. Salem Police, said. "The bottom line is that this is a person who is bringing the drug into the country and this is the drug that is killing our people," Prosniewski said. "The quantity that he had inside of him came to the weight level that exceeded the trafficking qualifications."

After Rodriguez told the medical team about the drugs, a nurse reported the incident to Salem police. Two detectives, dressed in "sanitation suits" watched for over 20 minutes as surgeons removed the bags of heroin from Rodriguez's body.

A total of 163.4-grams of heroin was retrieved that is valued at $16,000. The bags were removed from his stomach, colon and rectum through surgical procedure. Police then took the drugs from the hospital's pathology department after obtaining a search warrant.

Rodriguez is held on a $500,000 bail at his hospital bed for drug trafficking charges, Essex District Attorney's Office said. Salem is hit hard by the opioid crisis and so far 29 cases of overdose have been reported, of which three were almost life threatening. Prosniewski said, "We're fighting this on all fronts as much as we can."

Public defender defending the case of Rodriguez could not be reached for a statement.