Deputies: Man detained in drug raid near DeLand dies after concealing drugs in his mouth

Volusia County deputies are investigating the death of a man who became unresponsive when he hid drugs in his mouth during a narcotics raid near DeLand on Wednesday, investigators said.

Cornell McKinney, 54, hid baggies of what authorities believed to be heroin/fentanyl and crack cocaine in his mouth, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

McKinney had been detained along with four other people and was outside a house in the 800 block of Clara Avenue that was raided at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

When he didn't respond to deputies' questions, they suspected McKinney was trying to hide drugs in his mouth and asked him to spit out whatever he was chewing, investigators said.

McKinney refused and became unresponsive. Investigators called the DeLand Fire Department for medical assistance, the sheriff's office said.

Paramedics, who performed life-saving measures on McKinney, extracted three plastic baggies from his mouth and throat. Two of the baggies were suspected of containing heroin/fentanyl and crack cocaine, deputies said.

McKinney was transported to the hospital where he died, the sheriff's office said.

The official cause of McKinney's death will be determined by a pending autopsy, according to deputies.

After the raid, DeLand code enforcement officers declared the house unsafe for occupancy, deputies said.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office Major Case Unit is conducting the investigation.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Deputies: Man detained in drug raid near DeLand dies after concealing drugs in his mouth