A suspected drug dealer overdosed and died when a packet of cocaine split in his mouth as he tried to hide it during a police raid, an inquest heard.

Charles ‘Chad’ Allford was trying to hide the Class A substance when he was confronted by an officer during a raid in Derbyshire.

But the package then broke in his mouth, which led to the 23-year-old ingesting a large amount of the drug.

Officers tried “various methods” to get the cocaine out of Allford’s mouth, including asking him to spit it out, and a coroner recommended more “guidance or training” to help officers in these situations.

When they realized he had swallowed the drug, one of the officers called an ambulance to treat Mr Allford for an overdose.

An inquest found there was no evidence that the police contributed to Mr Allford’s death.

Father-of-one Chad Allford, 23, died in police custody while trying to hide drugs in his mouth

While they waited for the paramedics, Mr Allford was carried into the driveway of the house where his health was “rapidly declining”, he began to have convulsions and struggled to breathe.

He was then taken from the house in Alfreton, Derbyshire, to King’s Mill Hospital in Nottinghamshire where he died on the evening of 27 October 2021, the same day as the arrest.

The inquest, held at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court, Derbyshire, heard last month from a pathology report that it was “highly unlikely” that any medical intervention would have helped Mr Allford because of the “significant levels” of cocaine in his blood.

The inquest jury ruled that Mr Allford had died from the effects of cocaine and recorded a finding of accidental death.

Now the area coroner for Derbyshire, Susan Evans, has issued a warning to training officers about carrying out drug arrests.

She was concerned that officers had put their hands in Mr Allford’s mouth which could have caused him to suffocate on the plastic bag.

Hundreds of people attended a vigil for Mr Allford

In a report on the prevention of future deaths, Evans said: ‘Police attended (an address) in Alfreton following a planned operation involving the supply of class A drugs, to make an arrest.

“After unsuccessful attempts to gain entry using keys and a security guard, officers gained access through an open door at the rear of the property. After confrontation with an officer, (he) placed a packet of cocaine in his mouth.

“(The police) used various methods to try to control Mr. Allford and although each instructed Mr. Allford to spit out the drugs, none of them warned him of the risks to his life not to do so.

It was not clear that officers understood the importance of communicating the dangers.

“Attempts were made by officers to open his mouth and sweep the drugs out of his mouth with their hands.

“A number of officers gave evidence that they were not aware of some of the risks of putting their hands in someone’s mouth, including the risk of packages entering the airways and therefore choking.

“I am concerned that there are no standard provisions for guidance or training for police officers in units tasked with arresting for drug offences, to equip them to make informed decisions when faced with this situation.

Dozens of floral tributes and balloons were placed at the end of Morewood Drive

“The Personal Safety Manual describes it as a ‘common tactic used by some subjects during arrest to conceal controlled drugs in their mouths.’

“In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths could occur if action is not taken.”

Derbyshire Constabulary and the College of Policing have until December 19 to respond to the report.

An investigation by the Independent Police Conduct Panel also concluded the day after the hearing.

They found that officers used “reasonable force” to try to stop Mr Allford from ingesting the drugs and that there was “no evidence” that the police contributed to Mr Allford’s death.

IOPC regional director Derrick Campbell said: “Our thoughts remain with Mr Allford’s family and all those affected by his tragic death.

“When someone dies either during or after the deprivation of liberty, it is important that the circumstances are investigated thoroughly and independently.

“From the evidence we collected, we were satisfied that the force used by officers to attempt to arrest and detain Mr. Allford was necessary, reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances, as was the force used to attempt to prevent him from obtaining themselves what was thought to be class A drugs.’