An Australian tourist has died of a suspected drug overdose in his hotel room in northern Colombia, newspaper El Heraldo reported Tuesday.
According to reports, Martin Trent Alexander, 36, was found dead in his room in the Las Vegas Hotel in Santa Marta, a major tourist destination along Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
Colombian authorities said initial reports suggest Alexander died of a drug overdose after disposable syringes and traces of cocaine were found in his room.
El Heraldo reported that hotel staff last saw Alexander on Friday, May 11. A hotel employee discovered his body Tuesday after noticing a smell coming from the room.
Local authorities immediately passed the case to Colombia’s Technical Investigation Team, the investigatory branch of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said “The Australian Embassy in Chile (accredited to Colombia) is liaising with local authorities who are investigating the death.”
The department is currently trying to contact the man’s family. There are yet no details of when his body will be returned to Australia.
Alexander’s cadaver was taken to the Legal Medicine morgue in Santa Marta, where doctors will perform an autopsy and store the body until it is claimed by relatives.
