Hard-up pensioner nabbed over drug smuggling

A 76-year-old woman is suspected of having smuggled dozens of kilograms of drugs into Austria.Friederike G. was arrested at Innsbruck station yesterday (Thurs). Police, who have been watching the pensioner for several months, said today she was accused of transporting vast amounts of cocaine and heroine from the Netherlands into Austria on train journeys.The elderly woman reportedly confessed the crimes, claiming she started to smuggle and sell illegal substances after realising that she would be unable to make ends meet with her meagre state pension.Earlier this week, a Czech man was put in custody after police found 83 hashish seedlings in the boot of his car during a check on the A5 northern motorway in Lower Austria.Austrian health officials said that 187 people died as a result of taking drugs in 2009 (2008: 169). They pointed out that actual number of drug deaths might be significantly higher as the number of autopsies has been in decline.