Vietnam detains Australian for heroin trafficking

HANOI, Mar 5 (Reuters) Vietnamese police have arrested an Australian man of Vietnamese descent on drug trafficking charges, the second Australian suspect in less than three weeks, state media reported today.

The Thanh Nien (Young People) quoted officials as saying the 40-year-old man was detained on Saturday after trying to board a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Sydney with 1.1 kg (2.42 lbs) of heroin hidden in his underwear.

The arrest came less than three weeks after an Australian woman of Vietnamese origin was arrested trying to board the same flight with 1.55 kg of heroin hidden in her shoes.

Trafficking more than 600 grams of heroin is punishable by death or life imprisonment in Vietnam.

Reuters AKJ DB0852