MELBOURNE, June 23 (Bernama) -- A pregnant Malaysian drug courier who
swallowed 34 pellets of heroin in Kuala Lumpur before her arrest at the
Melbourne Airport, told a judge she had acted in that manner to "feed my
children".
Yesterday, the court here heard that mother of four Norazlinda Ramli, 35, from
Puchong, was "incredibly scared for the health of her baby" but was also in
"desperate" need of the money she was offered to smuggle the drug, The Age
newspaper reported.
Judge Gabriele Cannon expressed concern for Norazlinda''s unborn child whose
presence was confirmed in an examination at a hospital after her arrest on
Feb 10, this year.
Norazlinda, then 12 weeks pregnant, later excreted the pellets containing 83.1
grams of pure heroin with an estimated street-level value of A$92,200.
The court heard she had conducted an earlier ''dummy run'' to Melbourne
from Kuala Lumpur before she agreed to smuggle what she claimed was an unknown
but illegal substance, in return for about A$2,380.
-- MORE
NDC AKT GR
