A SYDNEY woman underwent emergency surgery to remove 41 balloons packed with heroin from her stomach, police said.

A statement from the New South Wales police said the unidentified 37-year-old woman, who had recently returned to Australia from a holiday in Vietnam, had been charged with supply of a prohibited drug.



Paramedics were called to her home in suburban Cabramatta, southwestern Sydney, on October 30 and rushed her to nearby Liverpool Hospital, where doctors found the 41 bags, including some that had ruptured.



A search of her home in Cabramatta allegedly unearthed six balloons containing heroin as well as scales, documents, a diary and mobile phone SIM cards, police said.