/ 2 September 1999

SA WOMEN SENTENCED IN PAKISTAN

A PAKISTANI customs court Wednesday sentenced a South African woman to three years in jail on heroin smuggling charges, court sources said. Madeleine Smith (25) was arrested on July 29 when 2,7 kilograms of heroin was found in her suitcase at the Karachi airport as she arrived to board a flight for Amsterdam, officials said. Lawyers said the woman, who pleaded guilty, was also fined 500000 rupees ($10000) by the court. After her arrest the woman was mistakenly identified as a British national, Rebecca Elizabeth, but it was later discovered that she had entered Pakistan on the stolen passport of the British woman.