Romano Dias dies after drinking from sports bottle containing $56K of crystal meth

DRUG dealers have claimed the life of an innocent father, who drank from a bottle containing $56,000 of crystal meth believing it was a sports drink.

An inquest into the death of British man Romano Dias has heard the 55-year-old was given a bottle of what appeared to be a fruit-based health drink by his daughter Katee.

It had been mailed to her London address, but with the wrong name on the package. She hung on to it for years, expecting someone to eventually claim it.

They never did, so Katee passed the bottle on to her father.

Mr Dias drank about half a class of the liquid and complained to his partner Debra Dulson that it tasted \"awful\", the Daily Mail reports.

He complained that his throat hurt before saying \"I am in trouble here. I am dying. I am dead.\"

Police analysis of the bottle showed it contained $56,000 of pure methylamphetamine, which has the street name crystal meth.

Detectives told Coroner William Morris during the inquest that they believed the package was destined for a drug dealer, but never made it. They reckon it was part of a broader plan to bring class A drugs into England, where crystal meth is relatively uncommon.

The person who sent the package has never been found, nor the person it was meant for.

Mr Morris said the tragic case was \"dreadful\".

He considered deeming it an unlawful killing, but conceded there was no evidence that the person who sent the parcel meant for Mr Dias, or anyone else, to drink it.

Mr Dias' death was concluded to be accidental.