Vietnam detains Australian woman over heroin packs

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam has detained an Australian woman of Vietnamese origin for allegedly trafficking heroin hidden in her underwear while boarding a plane in Ho Chi Minh City to Sydney at the weekend, airport customs said in a report.

Nguyen Thanh Huyen, 22, was detained at Tan Son Nhat Airport on Sunday night after customs searched her belongings and found two packs of white powder, said the report seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

Tests confirmed the packs contained 73.88 grams (2.6 ounces) of heroin and Huyen, who was travelling from Hanoi on a Vietnam Airlines flight, was handed over to the anti-drugs police in Ho Chi Minh City.

Huyen will not face death penalty or face life in jail in Vietnam, which punishes by firing squad or life imprisonment those convicted for trafficking in more than 600 grams (1.32 lb) of heroin.

Several Australians of Vietnamese descent have been arrested for trafficking heroin to Australia from Vietnam in recent years.

(Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by David Fox)