Smuggler busted with stomach full of cocaine
AVENEZUELAN woman was arrested by anti-drug police in Siem Reap on Sunday after an X-ray scan revealed more than 100 pellets of cocaine, weighing over 1 kilogram, in her stomach.
Um Amra, Siem Reap provincial deputy police chief and the director of the province’s anti-drug office, said that suspect Yosbeilys Katerine Flores Gonzalez, 26, was born in Merida, Venezuela. Amra said Gonzalez entered Cambodia from Bangkok on Saturday on a Bangkok Airways flight.
Suspicions were first raised by a tip-off to police, who monitored Gonzalez’s movements for 24 hours. They then arrested her and subjected her to an X-ray scan at a Siem Reap hospital, which revealed scores of tightly wrapped drug packages in her digestive system.
“Now she is in the police and medical custody, but there are only 61 pieces of drug out,” Amra said, saying 43 pellets still remained in her stomach.
Amra said medical professionals are worried the drugs could burst.
“In this case, authorities are investigating to find the iden- tities of other people involved so that we can bring them to justice,” he continued, adding that Gonzalez has not yet been charged.
Gonzalez reportedly told police that she has been dealing drugs since she was 16, and has been smuggling drugs internationally since the age of 18.
In this case, she brought the cocaine from Brazil via Dubai and Bangkok, with Cambodia as the intended final destination.