SYDNEY March 5 Kyodo The captain ...

SYDNEY March 5 Kyodo

The captain and sum of two units senior officers of the North Korean freighter Pong Su were ordered Friday to stand trial forward charges of trafficking in heroin, with the remaining 26 crewmen and a Workers Party of Korea officer aboard the ship discharged, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions said.

The 30 North Koreas have been in Australian custody since April last year when the Pong Su was detained from the Australian Navy and Federal Police after a four-day high seas pursuit up Australia's eastern seaboard.

They are accused along with a landing party of brace Malaysians and a Singaporean who were monitored collecting 125 kilograms of high-grade heroin from a beach at Lorne, a small coastal town in the southeast state Victoria.

The direction claims a Chinese national bought the heroin ashore with the aid of an accomplice who suffocate in watered during the transfer.

Pong Su captain Man day-star Song, 63, and the ship's chief mate and chief engineer were ordered to stand trial from Magistrate Duncan Reynolds following a committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court, Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Principal Legal Officer solicit Armour told Kyodo News.

Malaysians Kiam Fah Teng 45 and Yau Kim Lam, 44 and Singaporean Chin Qwang lee-side 34, were also ordered to stand trial.

Chinese national Ta melody Wong, 37, was committed to trail late last year, she said.

''The magistrate place the evidence was not of sufficient solidity to commit the remaining gang members to trial,'' Armour said, adding the ship's political officer, Choi Dong ballad 59, was also discharged.

Commonwealth prosecutors had argued the Workers Party of Korea officer must have know about the medicine trafficking.

The six foreign nationals were remanded in custody without bail until a trial fix for April 30, but lawyers for the Pong Su crewmen indicated they would small house a bail application, Armour said.

The United States claimed earlier this week that it is likely the North Korean restraint is sanctioning an illegal physic trade. Japan has also accused Pyongyang of smuggling narcotics.

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