John Lee (C), head of Customs Drug Investigation Bureau, speaks in front of packs of cocaine seized during a news conference held by the Customs and Excise Department in Hong Kong July 6, 2012. Customs officers seized a record amount of 649 kg (1430 pounds) of cocaine with a street value of HK$760 million ($98 million), a government radio reported on Friday. The drugs were found in a container coming from Ecuador at the Kwai Chung Container Terminals and three men have been arrested so far. REUTERS/Bobby Yip (CHINA – Tags: CRIME LAW DRUGS SOCIETY)[/caption]

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The polytechnic student who went missing with an African man for more than two months has been located – she was caught at the Haikou airport in China as a suspected drug smuggler.

 

Investigations revealed that Christina Luke Niju, 22, had arrived in Hainan on April 29 and had been issued a visa until July 29.

 

On Wednesday, her distraught parents had sought help from MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong to find their daughter after she failed to return home.

 

Chong said Christina, a Kuching Polytechnic student, was arrested on June 29 and had since been detained at the Hainan detention centre in Guangzhou.

 

“She is still being investigated. When the process is done, we can arrange for the parents to see her in China,” Chong told a press conference here yesterday.

 

He said Christina’s was one of the 10 cases over the last year involving Malaysians being used as drug mules to China.

 

He said seven of them had been sentenced to between 15 years and life imprisonment in various parts of China while the trial of one woman was pending. He added that a Malaysian man had been executed.

 

He said all these cases involved African men who conned their victims into becoming drug mules.

 

“I believe this trend is becoming very serious and I will brief MCA leaders about these cases so that this issue can be raised in the Cabinet,” said Chong.

 

On April 28, Christina had told a roommate that she would be going on a business trip to China with an African man named James.

 

Her parents lodged a missing person’s report with the police in Sandakan, who then passed the information to the Kuching police.

 

SOURCE: The Star

 

Editorial Message  
This site contains materials from other clearly stated media sources for the purpose of discussion stimulation and content enrichment among our members only.
whatsonsanya.com does not necessarily endorse their views or the accuracy of their content. For copyright infringement issues please contact editor@whatsonsanya.com