Danish Woman Jailed In Cambodia For Trafficking Painkillers
15 January 2009 - 3:54PM
Dow Jones News
PHNOM PENH (AFP)--A Cambodian court Thursday sentenced a Danish
woman to 15 years in prison for allegedly trying to mail thousands
of over-the-counter painkillers out of the country.
Axelexen Johanne Vinther, 45, was arrested at a post office in
the capital Phnom Penh last year as she tried to send 10,761
tablets containing codeine in packages to the U.S. and Canada.
The drugs can be easily bought at street-side pharmacies
throughout Phnom Penh, but are restricted in most Western
countries.
Chhay Kong, a judge at Phnom Penh Municipal Court, said Vinther
was guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced her to 15 years in
jail.
The judge also ordered Vinther to pay a fine of $7,500.
Chhay Kong also sentenced a 28-year-old son of Vinther in
absentia to 15 years behind bars and ordered him to pay a fine of
the same amount.
Vinther denied she smuggled the drug, calling the verdict
against her and her son "unjust."
"I did not commit any crimes. They (judges) don't even know what
codeine is. They compare it to heroin. It was never heroin. It is
not a hard drug," she said after the court hearing.
"It is something for the pain - painkillers."
Vinther said she would appeal against the verdict within a month
and would even seek a "royal pardon" from Cambodia's King Norodom
Sihamoni.
Impoverished Cambodia is becoming an increasingly popular
trafficking point for methamphetamines and heroin, particularly
since neighboring Thailand toughened its stance against illegal
drugs in 2002.
However, arrests for violations involving pharmaceuticals are
much less common.
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