A Nigerian man, a Filipino woman and two Cambodians faced court yesterday charged with smuggling about three kilograms of amphetamines from Dubai in March.

Sin Visal, presiding judge of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said 39-year-old Okeke Ugochukwu Emmanuel, president of the Nigerian Association in Cambodia, and Auxillo Math Eaiheressa Dayanan, a 26-year-old Filipino national, were charged with international drug trafficking. Heng Mey, 34, and Yim Rithy, 37, were charged as accomplices.

Sin Visal said Dayanan had been arrested on March 21 at Phnom Penh International Airport when police found 2.9 kilograms of drugs in her luggage. Police arrested the others later in Phnom Penh.

Dayanan said a man had paid her US$500 to take a package of make-up and lotions to Cambodia.

“My luggage was strictly screened and checked by police [in Dubai]. And there were no drugs,” she said.

Heng Mey, a Starmat manager in Daun Penh district, also said she had not been aware of the drugs.

The trial will continue on November 30.