Veiled Women Nabbed in $12.5M Jakarta Drug Bust

Iranians arrested in record airport drug haul
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 21, 2009 3:15 AM CDT
Veiled Women Nabbed in $12.5M Jakarta Drug Bust
Indonesian customs officers show evidence confiscated from alleged drug smugglers during a press conference at the Soekarno-Hatta airport, on the outskirts of Jakarta.   (AP Photo)

Eight veiled women were among a group of 10 Iranians arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling at Indonesia's main airport today. The $12.5 million haul of methamphetamines found in their hand baggage is the biggest drug bust in the airport's history, authorities say. Indonesian authorities have never seen veiled women used as drug runners before, the airport's customs chief told the AP.

"We believe they are part of an international syndicate," the official said. The women, by dressing like conservative Muslims, tried to "fool officers in a country like Indonesia, where women in black veils are generally considered to be good women," he added.
(More Muslim stories.)

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