Okla. Man Claims Heroin Pills Were for His Grandmother, Say Authorities

DETROIT (CBS/AP) Officials say a 53-year-old Oklahoma man told customs inspection at Detroit Metropolitan Airport that there was a perfectly good explanation for the $50,000 worth of heroin found in his luggage: his grandmother.

Federal authorities arrested Steven Patong Thao on Sunday after he was caught trying to transport two pill bottles containing 490 heroin capsules into the country, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

Thao's flight originated in Laos and stopped in Narita, Japan before arriving at the Detroit airport around noon Sunday. He was heading home to Oklahoma.

Initially, Thao told authorities that he had obtained the illegal drug through a prescription; however, that story apparently proved to be false.

Thao then claimed that his nephew had bought them in Laos which was where his flight originated for his diabetes and high blood pressure.

Thao, who feared agents would put him in jail for heroin distribution, then confessed that the pills were for his ailing grandmother who was very old and used them as a pain reliever, reports The Detroit Free Press.

Thao was released on $10,000 bond Tuesday and is headed back to Oklahoma.

According to The Detroit Free Press, Thao told Magistrate Judge Virginia Morgan that before his flight to Oklahoma Tuesday evening, he needed to get his wallet, driver's license, Social Security card, and a credit card back from the federal agent in Detroit, plus the $1,200 that was allegedly in his wallet.

The judge ordered that all of the items, except for the cash which remains in dispute, be returned to Thao.

Thao is expected to return to Michigan to attend a January 27 court hearing.