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Moscow follows proceedings for Russian woman charged with drug smuggling in Vietnam

Maria Dapirka was detained in Ho Chi Minh City’s airport for transporting narcotic substances in September 2014

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry is following the proceedings for Russian citizen Maria Dapirka whom Vietnam’s authorities charged with drug smuggling and is keeping an eye on the situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"The Foreign Ministry and our foreign entities are keeping an eye on the issue," she said. "Consulate officials have been regularly visiting the detained in the isolation cell and are keeping in touch with her relatives."

"According to the consular right and the operating legislation, Russian foreign entities in Vietnam, that is our Embassy in Hanoi and Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City have been supporting the Russian citizen and protecting her rights all along," the diplomat added.

The Russian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City told TASS earlier that the court proceedings for Dapirka that were due to start on August 30 in Ho Chi Minh City have been rescheduled for a later date.

Dapirka was detained in Ho Chi Minh City’s airport for transporting narcotic substances in September 2014. A pack containing almost three kilograms of cocaine was found in her bag. The woman pleads not guilty and says that her acquaintance, a Nigerian citizen, had thrown it stealthily into her bag.

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