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AFP tip led Cambodian police to alleged Australian heroin smuggler

An Australian woman has been detained in Cambodia, reportedly after being caught at the airport with drugs after a tip-off from the Australian Federal Police.

The woman was reportedly arrested at Phnom Penh International Airport with almost two kilograms of heroin allegedly stashed in her luggage.

Cambodia’s General Department of Immigration named the woman as Ve Thi Tran, a 37-year-old Australian national of Vietnamese heritage.

It said on its official Facebook page that 1814 grams of heroin were found embedded in the side of the woman’s suitcase in several different packages.

Photos in the Facebook post show officials pulling bags of a substance out of the lining of the suitcase.

An official Cambodian Immigration photo of the suitcase and drugs allegedly in the possession of 37-year-old Australian woman Ve Thi Tran.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said it was aware of the woman, and was ready to offer her consular assistance.

An AFP spokesperson said it was working with Cambodian authorities on the matter.

An immigration official at Phnom Penh airport, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to comment, said Ms Tran was preparing to return to Australia via Hong Kong when she was detained.

The arrest followed a tip-off from the Australian Federal Police, the official told AAP.

“The AFP can confirm it is working with Cambodian authorities on this matter,” a spokesman told AAP in a statement. “While enquiries continue no further comment will be made.”

Unlike some other Asian nations, where convicted drug smugglers face the death penalty, Cambodia has abolished capital punishment.

-with AAP and ABC

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