Australian arrested at Phnom Penh airport with heroin

Australian Ve Thi Tran (black jacket), 37, was arrested at the Phnom Penh airport on Saturday with 1.8 kilos of heroin. Immigration Department

Police arrested an Australian woman for allegedly trafficking nearly 2 kilograms of heroin through the Phnom Penh International Airport on Saturday.

Australian citizen Ve Thi Tran, 37, was caught with more than 1.8 kilograms of heroin in her luggage, according to a statement posted on the General Department of Immigration’s Facebook page.

Immigration head Sok Phal directed questions to National Police yesterday, but National Police spokesman Kirth Chantharith said he had not yet received a report about the case.

In pictures posted to the page, investigators can be seen pulling packages of the alleged heroin from the lining of Tran’s suitcase. Tran was born in Vietnam.

Foreign nationals caught smuggling drugs through the country often face hefty sentences. Last June, a Malaysian man caught with 1.08 kilograms of heroin at the Phnom Penh airport was sentenced to life in prison. The year before, the Appeal Court upheld the life sentences of a French, Australian and Nigerian trio caught with 2.2 kilograms of heroin in their luggage.

Australian Federal Police confirmed to Australian media that they are working with Cambodian authorities on Tran’s case.

A spokesperson from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs said only that the department “is aware of an Australian woman detained in Phnom Penh” and stands “ready to offer consular assistance”.

Contact authors: Daphne Chen and Khouth Sophak Chakrya

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Phnom Penh Post - Australian arrested at Phnom Penh airport with heroin