FEDERAL JURY INDICTS 2 CALIFORNIANS ON OPIUM SMUGGLING CHARGES

Two Northern California men have been indicted by a federal grand jury in
San Francisco on charges of illegally bringing into the country 56 pounds of
black tar opium, a drug rarely seized inside the United States. Kiam Fou
Saeteune and Kao Kevin Thungc are accused of attempting to smuggle the drug
into San Francisco International Airport last month hidden in secret panels
inside their luggage, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District
Court on Thursday. Saeteune, an unemployed father of three children, and
Thungc, an employee of a cardroom in Sacramento, are accused of conspiracy,
importation of opium, possession of the drug for distribution and smuggling.

If convicted of all the charges, they could be sentenced to up to 65 years
in federal prison, plus fines of as much as $1.75 million.

Both men were arrested by U.S. Customs agents at the airport on May 20. The
two remain in federal custody and have not yet been arraigned on the
charges. After the arrest, Saeteune reportedly admitted smuggling the drug
during an interview with customs agents, and Thungc is said to have
confirmed most of his version in a separate interview. According to an
affidavit filed by Agent Michael Pak, Saeteune admitted being an opium
smoker since he was a teenager and said he had obtained the drug in
Vietiane, Laos, from a dealer named Lou Saelee for $500. Court documents do
not indicate what the men intended to do with the opium once they smuggled
it into the United States, and neither could be reached for comment.

Law enforcement sources noted that unrefined opium seizures are so rare that
they are seldom included in statistical reports about drugs seized by
narcotics agents. ``We don't even have a category for opium,`' said Mike Van
Winkle, a spokesman for the California Department of Justice in Sacramento.
``We don't even keep track of opium because when we run across it, it has
almost always been refined.''

Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"