WA: Sydney woman jailed for nine years for smuggling heroin

AAP General News (Australia)
08-07-2006
WA: Sydney woman jailed for nine years for smuggling heroin

PERTH, Aug 7 AAP - A Sydney woman has been sentenced to nine years jail for smuggling
almost 2kg of heroin into Australia from Vietnam.

Thi Thanh Nga Ho, 37, was caught with the heroin at Perth's international airport in
February, after she flew in via Singapore along with her three-year-old son and 18-month-old
daughter.

Ho later pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle 1.9kg of heroin into Australia.

In the West Australian Supreme Court today, Justice John McKechnie sentenced Ho to
nine years jail, saying she would suffer from not being with her young children as a consequence
of her imprisonment.

"Your children will be deprived of their mother for many years and will undoubtedly
suffer because of it," Justice McKechnie said.

However, "many hundreds of parents could have felt the misery of disconnection from
their children" if the heroin she smuggled had reached the streets, he said.

Ho will be eligible for parole in February 2011.

AAP lk/it/sd

KEYWORD: HO

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.