A 90-year-old Taiwanese man was among three charged by a Cambodian court on Monday with trying to smuggle several kilograms of heroin out of the country, court officials said.
The alleged drug mule — thought to be the oldest caught in Cambodia — was arrested over the weekend along with two other Taiwanese also found to be carrying heroin.
The 90-year-old, Huang Fang Hou, was arrested at Phnom Penh International airport on Saturday with 1,9kg of heroin strapped to his body as he tried to board a flight to Taiwan via Hong Kong, police said.
Two other Taiwanese, Chen Hsin Hung (57) and Chou Chung Tung (30) were arrested at the airport Friday after police found 4,75kg of heroin strapped to Chen as they were about to board a flight home via Kuala Lumpur.
The three men were questioned by Phnom Penh Municipal court officials for several hours before a prosecutor charged them, said a court official, who asked not to be named.
”They have been charged with cross-border drug trafficking,” the official told reporters, refusing to give more details. It was not known if the arrests are connected.
Nou Chantha, the lawyer for the three, confirmed the charges against the men.
Cambodia’s national assembly passed laws last year to toughen its penalties for drug trafficking. Such heroin hauls carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and a $25 000 fine.
In January a Hong Kong man who tried to smuggle 3,1kg of heroin out of Cambodia was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The impoverished country is becoming an increasingly popular trafficking point for methamphetamines and heroin, particularly since neighbouring Thailand toughened its stance against illegal drugs in 2002. – Sapa-AFP