Juice Wrld swallowed several painkillers to hide them from cops who were tipped off about marijuana on his private jet
Rapper Juice Wrld allegedly died after swallowing several Percocet painkillers in an effort to hide them from authorities as they searched his luggage for drugs and firearms at Chicago's Midway Airport on Sunday.
Following a tip that the musician was carrying contraband, police and federal agents were already waiting inside the Atlantic Aviation hangar for the 21-year-old's flight to arrive from Los Angeles at 1:30 am, TMZ reports.
According to the outlet, law enforcement was alerted by the pilot flying the 'Bandit' hitmaker's jet, who reported that guns and drugs were being carried on board. The up and coming artist, whose real name is Jarad Higgins, was reportedly seen swallowing several Percocet pills in what witnesses believe was an attempt to hide them from officers, who began sifting through his entourage's suitcases.
Sources told TMZ that Higgins began convulsing shortly after a possible overdose and ultimately suffered a seizure.
Rescue efforts saw an agent administer Higgins two doses of Narcan -- an emergency treatment meant for opioid overdose.
After 40 minutes of treatment, Higgins reportedly woke up but was found to be incoherent and bleeding from the mouth. He was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, but doctors pronounced him dead an hour after his arrival.
Authorities found the luggage aboard the jet contained 41 ‘vacuum-sealed’ bags - or 70 pounds - of marijuana and six bottles of prescription codeine cough syrup.
Furthermore, they also found two 9mm pistols, a .40-caliber pistol, a high-capacity ammunition magazine, and metal-piercing bullets.
Speaking to TMZ, one of the rapper's friends said he had a Percocet "problem" and would regularly consume the highly-addictive opioid. The compound is known to have fatal side effects if mixed with alcohol.
That said, a specific cause of death is yet to be established as experts try to determine whether drugs played a role in Higgins’ untimely demise. The Cook County Medical examiner was scheduled to carry out an autopsy on Monday.
At the time of the fatal seizure, the rapper was with at least 10 or 12 people. Among them were his girlfriend Ally Lotti and his two security guards, Henry Dean, 27, of Chicago, and Christopher Long, 36, of California.