Drugs in the mail

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court yesterday charged two Cambodian men with cross-border drug trafficking after police arrested them on suspicion of mailing 3 kilograms of heroin packaged as chocolate to Australia, court officials said.

An Interior Ministry official who asked not to be named said police arrested the men on August 7 after receiving a tip from Australian police, who said they had received the package in May. The package was mailed from Siem Reap province and bore Mao Sokha’s name and contact information, the official said.

Te Sam Ang declined to provide details of the case, citing the ongoing investigation, but said the men had been placed in pretrial detention. He said that they each faced up to 30 years in jail if convicted.