SAfrican woman arrested for drug smuggling

SAMUT PRAKAN, THAILAND, April 4 (TNA) - A 34-year-old South African woman has been arrested by Thai customs authorities and charged with smuggling seven kilogrammes of cocaine. Rakop Srisupa-at, Director-General of the Ministry of Finance's Customs Department, told a press conference of the arrest on Friday, saying that the South African woman, identified as Monica Meere, was apprehended upon her arrival at Thailand's main Suvarnabhumi International Airport, from Johannesburg, after the customs authorities found the seized drug in her luggage, hidden inside a candy box. Rakop revealed that the arrested woman denied the charge, saying that her unidentified friend had asked her to give the box to a South African person staying in Thailand. Meere reportedly told investigators that she planned to buy Thai clothes for sale in her country.(TNA)