A taxi driver died after unwittingly drinking pure liquid cocaine from a rum bottle given to him as a gift, a court heard today.
Lascell Malcolm, 63, had been handed the bottle of Bounty Rum by friend Antoinette Corlis after refusing to take payment for a lift home after she returned from a Caribbean holiday.
She in turn had been given the bottle by a friend, Michael Lawrence, who was carrying it back to the UK from St Lucia for acquaintance Martin Newman.
Newman, 50, was the only one who knew there was 246g (8.7oz) of pure cocaine dissolved into the alcohol, and that just a teaspoon of the liquid could be fatal.
He had given two bottles to Mr Lawrence before flying from St Lucia to Gatwick Airport, claiming his own baggage was overweight. It was intended that he would collect the bottles upon arrival in the UK, but Newman was detained by Customs officers.
The Independent
