PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - AUTHORITIES have charged a Danish woman who allegedly tried to mail thousands of over-the-counter painkillers out of Cambodia with drug smuggling, a judge said on Friday.

Axelexen Johanne Vinther, 45, was arrested at a post office in the capital Phnom Penh on Wednesday as she tried to send 10,761 tablets containing codeine in packages to the United States and Canada, said security official Chhay Sinarith.

The pills are of a type regularly found in street-side pharmacies throughout Phnom Penh, but codeine is a restricted drug in most Western countries.

'I have charged her with drugs trafficking,' Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge Chan Sinath told reporters, adding that the case was still being investigated.

Vinther faces 20 years in prison if convicted.

Impoverished Cambodia is becoming an increasingly popular trafficking point for methamphetamines and heroin, particularly since neighbouring Thailand toughened its stance against illegal drugs in 2002.

However, arrests for violations involving pharmaceuticals are much less common. -- AFP