AN African woman died shortly after she flew into London after swallowing 61 packages cocaine.

The woman, believed to be named Mary Kofi, died shortly after arriving at Heathrow on a flight from Ghana on May 29.

A member of the public found her at 1pm that afternoon in a great deal of pain sitting on a wall outside St Helier Hospital, in Sutton, Surrey. She was rushed to the emergency unit, but died just one hour later.

A post mortem revealed she had swallowed 61 packages of a white powder, believed to be cocaine.

Sutton detective inspector Mike Smith said: "Whilst still conscious, she told hospital staff she had flown in from Ghana to Heathrow, earlier that morning and that she was carrying a large amount of cocaine in her stomach.

"The woman was in a great deal of pain but managed to give us some information. It's possible her name was Mary Kofi, born on 27 April, in either 1957 or 1947. We are unsure if this was correct and are aware that Kofi is a very common name in Ghana."

She may have arrived on a flight from Ghana that morning, or on a flight with an onward connection to Amsterdam.

Police don't know if she was traveling under her real name. She was described as about 50-years-old, 5'10 tall, of heavy build and had wavy black hair with slight tints of red within.

She was wearing very distinctive clothing including a handkerchief bearing a logo 'Argent Swallow' with Chinese writing underneath.

Mr Smith said police wanted to speak to anyone who had seen the woman on the flights or in London.

"It's likely she was picked up at some point and dropped at the hospital once she became ill. We are particularly keen to speak to the woman who alerted a hospital porter," he said.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Sutton CID on 020 8649 0735 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.