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Romanian, Nigerian men jailed for life in Cambodia for trafficking cocaine

Xinhua, May 9, 2017 Adjust font size:

A Cambodian court on Tuesday convicted a Romanian and a Nigerian of cross-border drug smuggling, and sentenced both of them to life in prison.

Romanian man Adrian-Calin Varadi, 40, was caught on Aug. 14, 2016 when he arrived at the Phnom Penh International Airport from Brazil with 4.96 kg of cocaine hidden in his luggage.

Nigerian man Chukwuemeka Ibe, 35, was arrested later that day when he waited at his hotel room to receive the drugs to take them to neighboring Thailand.

The duo are charged with "illegally transporting the drugs" under the country's Drug Law, said a verdict read by Phnom Penh Municipal Court's Presiding Judge Im Vannak.

"The court decides to sentence each of them to life in prison and to fine them 40 million riel (10,000 U.S. dollars) each," the verdict said.

During a trial last month, Varadi confessed to the crime, but Ibe denied the charge, claiming that he did not know the package he supposed to receive was carrying drug.

Under the Cambodian law, the convicts have one month to appeal against the ruling. Endit