Czech woman held in Hong Kong on drug charges

A Czech woman has been held in a Hong Kong prison since April 12 on drug-related charges. The Foreign Ministry confirmed the news to Czech Radio on Saturday, saying both the woman and her family are in contact with Czech authorities.

Ministry spokesperson Daniel Drake did not specify whether the woman was caught smuggling drugs or committed the crime while in Hong Kong.

In a similar case from 2018, 70-year-old Vladimír Švec was sentenced to 27 years in Hong Kong for cocaine smuggling. He was later transferred to Czechia, where his sentence was reduced by a presidential pardon. However, he died in prison last August before being released. Švec always claimed he was innocent and unaware of the drugs in his suitcase.