Australian Woman Given 30 Years for Heroin
PHNOM PENH, April 25 (Xinhua) — A Cambodian court on Thursday convicted an Australian woman of attempting to smuggle nearly two kilos of drug out of Cambodia and sentenced her to 30 years in prison, according to a verdict.
Tran Ve Thi, 39, was arrested with the drug at the Phnom Penh international airport on Jan. 6 last year when she checked in for a flight bound for Australia, her final destination.
At that time, immigration police found and seized 1.75 kilos of heroin wrapped in plastic and hidden at the bottom of her suitcase.
“Tran Ve Thi was found guilty of possessing and trafficking illicit drug,” said the verdict pronounced by Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s Presiding Judge Khun Sokna.
“The court decided to sentence Tran Ve Thi to 30 years in jail and fines her 80 million riel (19,767 U.S. dollars),” the verdict said.
During a trial on April 9, the Vietnamese-born Australian confessed to the crime, saying that she was paid 10,000 U.S. dollars by a Vietnamese-Australian man to bring the drug from Cambodia to Australia.
Under Cambodia’s law, the convict has one month to appeal against the ruling.
