text: Briton held in Thailand over 4.4 kg heroin find . BANGKOK 1996-08-28 Thai airport police arrested a British bartender for allegedly attempting to board a flight for Amsterdam with nearly 4.4 kg ( 9.68 lb ) of heroin in his luggage , police said on Wednesday . Police said James Lee Williams , 28 , was stopped at a Bangkok airport departure lounge on Monday after officials found the drug in a bag that Williams planned to carry onto the plane . Williams ' hometown was not immediately available . The maximum sentence for heroin trafficking is the death penalty , although it is normally commuted to life imprisonment .