SINGAPORE: A woman was extradited from Singapore and arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday evening (March 26), according to a statement from the United States Attorney’s Office, Central District of California.
Forty-four-year-old Demi Pham, who is also known as Diem Thi Ly, is a dual citizen of the US and Vietnam. She had fled the US the night before she was due to stand trial for methamphetamine trafficking in 2022.
The statement said that Pham was scheduled to make her initial appearance on Friday afternoon at the US District Court in Santa Ana.
Together with a co-conspirator, Pham enlisted couriers to transport methamphetamine and cocaine in suitcases from the US to Australia between November 2018 and May 2019. The two hid the drugs in candles and toy boxes.
Police officers were able to seize over 20 kilograms of methamphetamine from couriers. A search of Pham’s home in Los Angeles County afterwards also yielded more than 10 kilograms of methamphetamine.
After her arrest, she was charged with one count of conspiracy to export controlled substances, two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of attempted exportation of methamphetamine. She had pleaded guilty to these charges in 2021.
Pham was scheduled to appear for a hearing in May 2022, but failed to do so. A bench warrant was then issued by a judge for her arrest.
Upon a request from the US, she was arrested in Singapore in November 2025. She was transferred by Singaporean authorities to the custody of the US Marshals Service, who escorted her from Singapore on March 26.
If she is found guilty in the US, she faces between a minimum of 10 years in jail and a life sentence.
“The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, working with the Singapore Police Force and Attorney-General’s Chambers, provided critical assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Pham to the United States,” the statement reads.
This is the second case of extradition from Singapore to make the news recently.
Earlier this week, a Chinese man who broke into the home of a woman living in West Auckland was caught in Singapore and then extradited to New Zealand almost two years after the home invasion occurred.
The man fled China a few days after the incident occurred. After his identity was established, authorities in New Zealand worked with their counterparts in China to bring him to justice, but the two countries do not have an extradition treaty. However, the man then flew to Singapore, which does have such a treaty with New Zealand. Zhang was extradited to face the charges against him, appearing in the High Court at Auckland earlier this month. /TISG
Read also: Singapore extradites Chinese man over Auckland break-in and sexual assault
