Phnom Penh - A Danish woman faces drug smuggling charges in Cambodia after she was arrested at the post office allegedly trying to post thousands of tablets containing codeine, a police official said Friday.

The secretary-general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, Lou Ramin, said Axelexen Johanne Vinther, 45, attracted the suspicion of postal workers at the capital's main post office earlier this week.

Police investigated and allegedly found she was attempting to post 10,761 tablets containing codeine, which is a restricted substance in most Western countries, he said.

"This is not an unusual case - foreigners try to post drugs all the time and we have had many cases such as this," Police General Ramin said. "This is now a matter for the court."

Several African men are currently serving jail terms in Cambodia for attempting to send heroin through the post. However, arrests for posting pharmaceuticals are far less common.

Codeine remains legal to buy and sell across the counter without prescription in Cambodia, but not to post in bulk overseas.

If convicted, Vinther faces up to 20 years in jail. (dpa)