Police at Siem Reap International Airport arrested two Thai women yesterday evening for trying to smuggle 11 kg of cocaine into the country, police said.
Lieutenant Colonel Non Sophany, anti-drug police chief for Siem Reap province, said that the two women had been detained at about 6 p.m. when a large amount of white powder was found in their possession after their flight landed.
“After some testing, we discovered that the powder was cocaine,” Lt. Col. Sophany said.
He said that the two women—who were carrying the 11 kg of cocaine between them—had brought the drugs from Brazil.
“Now, we are investigating to find their partners” in the drug smuggling operation, he added.
This year is turning out to be a bumper year for drug busts in Cambodia.
In August, three women, also from Thailand, were charged for trying to smuggle a total of almost 30 kg of cocaine into the Phnom Penh International Airport. Police at the time said the women had brought the drugs from Ecuador, and were headed to Thailand. Siem Reap airport has also seen large seizures of crystal methamphetamine in recent months.
In previous years, the amount of cocaine seized by Cambodian authorities has been small. Only 0.56 kg of cocaine was seized in 2011, according to the National Authority for Combating Drugs.
