Thai woman caught smuggling heroin

Thai woman caught smuggling heroin

TANGERANG (JP): Customs and excise officers managed to foil a
drug trafficker's alleged attempt to smuggle 600 grams of heroin
worth more than Rp1 billion (US$117,647) from Thailand to
Indonesia through Soekarno-Hatta airport last Saturday morning,
officials announced on Monday.

Accompanied by chief of the airport customs and excise office
Jusuf Indarto, Director General of Customs and Excise Permana
Agung told media that the suspect was a Thai woman, Nonthanam M.
Saichon, 21.

Jusuf Indarto said that Saichon, who flew from Bangkok by Thai
Airways flight TG-433, arrived at the airport at 5:30 p.m. last
Saturday.

"Based on officers' intelligence observations and analysis of
all passengers' conduct and profiles, officers then became
suspicious of the young woman," Jusuf said.

He said that since no drug evidence had been found upon
searching the suspect's luggage and clothes, suspicious officers
then carefully searched the nervous suspect's underwear.

Jusuf said as soon as the suspect was ordered to undress,
officers found six plastic packets containing the white powdery
drug attached to her underpants and bra.

"Preliminary test results using "narcotest", conducted by
customs and excise medical officers, confirmed that the packets
of white powder contained 600 grams of pure heroin," Jusuf
remarked, adding that the six packets reportedly had a street
value of more than Rp 1 billion (US$117,647).

Permana added that the suspect is now in police detention at
the national HQ for further investigation.

According to Permana Agung, by allegedly smuggling heroin into
the country, the suspect had violated article 82 of Anti-drugs
law No. 22/1997. The Article carries a maximum death sentence
and a Rp1 billion fine.

Tangerang district court has sentenced 13 drug traffickers to
death over the past 18 months.

The district court is also scheduled on Tuesday to hand down
another death penalty to African Namaona Denis, for whom the
prosecutor had demanded life imprisonment on Aug. 17, for
smuggling 1 kilogram of heroin from Pakistan into the country in
April.

Tangerang prosecutors office also received last Friday the
dossiers from the National Police who had completed their
investigation into Edith Yunita Sianturi, 24, a resident of
Depok, West Java, arrested at the airport for smuggling 1
kilogram of heroin from Thailand early in June. (41)