/ 4 August 2005

SA ‘porridge’ smuggler jailed for 18 years in Australia

A South African flight attendant was jailed for 18 years on Thursday for trying to smuggle heroin with a street value of up to $3,5-million into Australia.

Leyakoa Mohlasedi was a crew member on a flight from Johannesburg last year when he smuggled in almost 1,2kg of the drug, national ABC radio reported.

Customs officers found some of the heroin strapped to his body and the rest sewn into women’s underwear in his luggage.

The 33-year-old initially told police he thought the packages contained porridge, the radio station reported. He will be eligible for parole in 10 years. – Sapa-AFP