--- title: Drug Suspect Who Swallowed Stash Hasn't Pooped in 3 Weeks description: The alleged drug dealer has been on bathroom-strike for 22 days canonical: https://time.com/5139170/drug-suspect-swallows-drugs-bathroom-strike/ author: Flora Carr article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-08T13:14:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:50:26.289Z og:title: Drug Suspect Who Swallowed Stash Hasn't Pooped in 3 Weeks og:description: Police in the U.K. have been tweeting daily updates og:url: https://time.com/5139170/drug-suspect-swallows-drugs-bathroom-strike/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2bef2540fd18610c/698926c397cdff2e886b43af/toilet.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3800 og:image:height: 2138 og:image:alt: Bathroom inside Plaza Hotel & Casino. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Drug Suspect Who Swallowed Stash Hasn't Pooped in 3 Weeks twitter:description: Police in the U.K. have been tweeting daily updates twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2bef2540fd18610c/698926c397cdff2e886b43af/toilet.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Drug Suspect Accused of Swallowing Stash Hasn't Pooped in 3 Weeks > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=580f4e30-b47c-4fea-9ee9-970c14b3dff2&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Flora Carr](https://time.com/author/flora-carr/) ## Flora Carr Feb 8, 2018 1:14 PM UTC  Bathroom inside Plaza Hotel, Casino. Bathroom inside Plaza Hotel, Casino. Jeff Greenberg—UIG via Getty Images by [Flora Carr](https://time.com/author/flora-carr/) ## Flora Carr Feb 8, 2018 1:14 PM UTC A drug suspect in the U.K. accused of swallowing[ Class A drugs](http://time.com/4851302/imagine-if-the-media-covered-alcohol-like-other-drugs/) has refused to go to the toilet for three weeks, forcing police to go on what they called “poo watch.” The alleged drug dealer, a 24-year-old man, has now been on “bathroom strike” for 22 days, and is being held in custody by Essex Police in the south of England. The man is under constant supervision. Essex Police’s Operation Raptor West unit has been tweeting daily updates on the man’s refusal to defecate, using the hashtags #PooWatch and #HowLongCanYouGo. The police say they are drawing attention to the case to show that drug dealing is not “glamorous,” [the BBC reported](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-42972989). On Wednesday, the account tweeted: “Day 21/3 weeks for our man on #poowatch still no movements/items to report” > [](https://twitter.com/OpRaptorWest/status/961303586499186690) Essex Police will be requesting to detain the man for “a further 8 days should he not produce anything” before a Friday hearing. 23 days is the current record for the longest time a suspect has resisted using the bathroom, a police spokesperson [told the BBC](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-42972989). A spokesperson for Essex Police told TIME: “We take the safety of all our detainees extremely seriously. In instances where individuals are suspected of ingesting drugs or having substances inside them they are subject to regular health checks, including hospital visits, ultrasound scans and x-rays. 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