Australian woman could get death penalty for drug smuggling

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 30 (UPI) -- An Australian woman faces a hearing in Malaysia, where she is accused of transporting methamphetamine, an offense punishable by death.

Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto, 52, of Sydney, Australia, was detained Dec. 7, 2014, at Kuala Lumpur's airport while traveling from Shanghai to Melbourne, allegedly carrying 1.5 kilograms (nearly three and one-half pounds) of crystal methamphetamine. The hearing Friday follows the presentation in court of a chemical analysis of the alleged drug Thursday, which confirmed it was methamphetamine. She has claimed she was conned by an online military romance scam, which brought her to Shanghai, then fooled into returning to Australia with the illegal drug in her suitcase. Her lawyers have argued she was victimized by a sophisticated entrapment scam which has snared thousands of people.

The case will now be presented to a higher court. Malaysia has a mandatory death sentence for anyone convicted of carrying more than 50 grams (1.77 ounces) of a prohibited substance, and Kuala Lumpur's airport has become a major international transit point for illegal drugs, authorities said.

Exposto's case is similar to that of Mary Jane Veloso, who was convicted of the same crime in Indonesia while claiming she had no knowledge drugs she carried through the airport were sewn into compartments in her luggage. Due to face a firing squad Wednesday, Veloso's life was spared by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.