American woman caught smuggling meth from Phuket to Singapore
published : 24 Feb 2025 at 12:35
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Achadthaya Chuenniran
A 65-year-old woman from the United States has been arrested in Phuket after more than four kilogrammes of methamphetamine were found in her luggage as she boarded a plane to Singapore.
Police searched Melba Sharp's suitcase when she checked in at a Scoot Airlines counter at Phuket airport on Sunday night.
They found four packages containing white crystals wrapped in paper and plastic and then hidden in four packaged bed sheets. There were 4.3 kilogrammes of what was believed to be methamphetamine.
Police unwrapped the sheets as they seemed heavier than they should have been.
Ms Sharp, a resident of the state of California, was on her way to Singapore.
Police had received a tip-off that a departing passenger would be attempting to smuggle drugs through the airport.
They had asked the budget airline for the list of passengers, and suspicion had focused on the American woman.
Vocabulary
- crystal: shining little pieces of glass that look like little diamonds, that are used in jewelry and to decorate dresses -
- methamphetamine: a stimulant drug that increases alertness and energy, but which is dangerous when taken in large amounts or over a long period of time - ยาบ้า
- package (noun): a set of items or ideas that must be bought or accepted together - รวมกันเป็นชุด
- smuggle: to take things or people to or from a place secretly and often illegally - ลักลอบนำเข้า
- suspicion: a feeling that something bad is probably true or likely to happen - ความสงสัย
- tip off: telling someone in advance about something that is going to happen - การเตือน
- tip-off: secret information or a warning given by someone - ข่าวเตือน จากวงใน
