A 48-year-old Singaporean man was arrested at the Phnom Penh International Airport on Thursday afternoon attempting to board a flight to Australia carrying about 85 grams of heroin concealed inside a chocolate bar wrapper, an official said.
The suspect, Chua Hwee Kiat, had made the trip from Singapore to Phnom Penh and on to Australia several times in recent weeks.
When airport security stopped and searched him, they found heroin in his pocket packed inside the chocolate packaging, according to Nhim Sophat, deputy director of the Interior Ministry’s internal security department.
“We arrested the suspect when he walked through the entrance to the airport and after searching him we found 84.4 grams of heroin in his pocket,” he said, adding that police cooperated with Singaporean authorities after being alerted by the suspect’s repeated journeys back and forth between the countries.
Mr. Sophat added that the estimated value of heroin seized was more than $5,000 dollars and said the suspect was being detained for questioning at the National Police headquarters.
