A 26-YEAR-OLD Bruneian female has been detained in Shanghai, China, for possessing an undisclosed amount of heroin in her suitcase. Shanghai Pudong International Airport customs officials apprehended the woman when she arrived on a flight from Kuala Lumpur on January 11, a statement from Brunei's Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said yesterday.

According to the report, the woman admitted that she was tricked by a male of African nationality, whom she had met on the Internet a month ago. The woman is currently being held at the Shanghai Detention Centre in Pudong.

The woman is reportedly the second Bruneian to be apprehended abroad for drug trafficking. Previously a male, also aged 26, was apprehended on February 27, 2008 and was detained in Santiago, Chile for attempting to smuggle 5.73kg of cocaine in his suitcase. In both cases, updates on the current situation of the implicated people are still in waiting as the respective Bruneian embassies assigned to the countries have not yet relayed new information back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, a ministry official said yesterday.

It is believed that the pair was involved in an international drug trafficking syndicate which lures unsuspecting victims to become couriers and carry drugs to different countries. The mastermind behind this syndicate is thought to be of West African origin, according to the NCB statement.

The cartel uses various tactics, including lucrative remunerations such as monetary rewards and other luxuries to attract their victims via Internet chat and email.

Another strategy used by the syndicate is to offer job opportunities, complete with forged documents bearing company logos. It is also suspected that local agents are employed by the syndicate to reel in victims, especially their own friends and relatives with the false job offers, where they get to travel abroad on an all-expenses paid trip. All these strategies are used to recruit potential drug couriers.

One similarity between both cases is that both Bruneians had arrived at the respective countries after departing from Kuala Lumpur. However, Bruneians are not the only nationals who have fallen prey to the syndicate's activities. Earlier this month, The Straits Times reported that at least 12 Singaporean women have been caught for ferrying drugs since 2005, following their arrests in the airports of countries such as Japan, Argentina, China and Australia. These women were stated to have been befriended by African males, who asked them to transport the contraband.

"Singaporeans are prized as drug couriers. Their law-abiding image and the republic's known stance against drugs imbues them with a higher likelihood of making it past checkpoints," The Straits Times report said. "The red passport they hold is a valuable 'asset', since many countries do not require Singaporeans to have a visa."

In light of the situation, NCB has reminded parents and guardians to be watchful over their children's activities. They are advised to find out the purpose of any trip when their children travel abroad. According to the bureau's investigations, among the causes of falling victim to this syndicate include Internet chatting, being friends and having intimate relationships with foreign nationals without knowing their backgrounds, being unaware of the recent drug situation and laws on drugs.

The NCB has also advised the public to confirm that a job offer is legitimate before accepting it. The bureau suspects the syndicate uses email to post employment opportunities offering large wages without clearly describing the role of the employee.

In Courtesy of The Brunei Times