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ANGERANG: Customs and Excise officers have arrested a Thai dancer for allegedly attempting to smuggle 2.3 kilograms of heroin worth Rp 4.6 billion (US$515,695) into the country from Bangkok at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The head of customs at the airport, Bahaduri Wijayanta, identified the suspect as Jenni Ponsai, 25, a strip dancer at a night club in Bangkok.

He said Ponsai had flown from Bangkok to Jakarta on Garuda Indonesia flight GA-867 on Friday. Customs officers found the drugs in her luggage.

“The drugs were wrapped in large envelopes inside a plastic bag hidden in the suitcase’s lining,” Bahaduri said.

The police and the airport’s customs office have launched an investigation into the case, but failed to intercept the intended recipient of the drugs, who was reported to have been waiting for the delivery at a hotel in Slipi, West Jakarta.

“Our men failed to find the recipient at the hotel. He seemed to be aware of the situation,” Bahaduri said.

Ponsai said that she had been asked to carry the luggage to Jakarta by her African boyfriend and was promised US$1,000 if she could deliver the drugs, he added. — JP