Death sentence threat hangs over well-known Jakarta expat.

Four foreigners nabbed for drugs

Tuesday, February 26, 2008
TANGERANG: Four foreign nationals were arrested last week for allegedly smuggling drugs into the country, customs and excise officers and the police said over the weekend.

Three of the four suspects were arrested soon after their arrival at Soekarno-Hatta airport on Feb. 20. They were identified as Thai nationals Thitirat, 24, and Naksri, 27, and an Englishman, Michael Anthony, 34.

"Our officers considered Thitirat to be acting suspiciously at the customs checkpoint," Eko Darmanto, head of intelligence at the airport's customs and excise office, said.

He said officers found drugs estimated to be worth Rp 2 billion (US$210,000) hidden in a bag Thitirat was carrying.

Eko said interrogation of Thitirat led officers to arrest Naksri and Michael Anthony, who were also at the airport at that time.

Officers seized four small plastic bags containing a total of 515 grams of cocaine from Naksri and Anthony, Eko said.

The police subsequently learned of the alleged receiver's address and arrested another Englishman, identified as John Patrick Gerard, 52, in Cilandak, South Jakarta, late Thursday.

"We confiscated eight grams of cocaine from Gerard," the airport police's drugs chief, Comr. Haryanto, said. -JP

old john's in a spot of bother, i would suggest.

never heard of him .. who is he?

john is a "well-known Jakarta expat" who no-one has heard of ...

Best to keep names out for obvious reasons.

They will publish his name when they put a bullet in him.

Breaks my heart it does.

Good god man. Keep a stiff upper lip what. Shan't be good for moral if the men see you snivelling Captain. This'll all be behind us in a jiffy and we'll be home in time for tea and scones. Hurrah!

If John "Gerrard" is who it's rumored to be on the jungle drums then that is indeed most unfortunate. Although giving the mules your home address goes way beyond unfortunate.

Actually amongst my many pet hates are arseholes who deal drugs - it's bad enough people being stupid enough to mess with heavy stuff like that, but to supply it reaches yet another level of scumminess.

So I'll keep my morals exactly where they are, about 2" off the ground.

I suppose if you're are stupid enough to deal, then do it in a country where they don't give you the cold steel for getting caught.

I think therefore you may now have gathered that I don't give a toss if they do give him a weight increase in the shape of 100 grains of copper jacketed lead.

Unfortunate RH? It's not unfortunate, it's out and out stupid.

he possibly qualifies for nomination for a Darwin Award.

There's a grainy pic on Metro TV's site, showing three of those arrested, and the Customs officers wearing balaclavas and carrying big guns.

http://www.metrotvnews.com/berita.asp?id=53998

The Post doesn't mention that the two Thais arrested - Jintana Naksri and Thitirat Charoensuk - were women. Various reports say that Thitirat Charoensuk and Michael Anthony G. aroused the suspicion of customs officers when collecting their bags from the carousel. Their two bags were x-rayed and the four bags of cocaine showed up. Their friend Jintana Naksri from the same flight was then also detained as a witness.

The Post said the Englishman later arrested in Cilandak had 8 grams of cocaine, but other reports said he was in possession of 0.8 grams.

Republika thouhtfully quotes a policeman as pointing out that cocaine is for the middle and upper classes, including expats: Menurut Haryanto, narkoba jenis kokain biasanya dikonsumsi oleh kalangan menengah ke atas, termasuk para ekspatriat. "Kami akan terus mengembangkan kasus ini untuk mengungkap jaringan yang lebih besar," ujarnya kepada wartawan.

Reports say the suspects could face a penalty of anywhere from seven years to life imprisonment to death.

Law No.22/1997 on Narcotics classifies cocaine as a Category I drug, which means production and trafficking carry the death penalty (although there's a loophole that can reduce trafficking to 15 years in jail), whereas possession carries a 10-year jail sentence and personal use a 4-year jail sentence. In past cases, defendants have avoided death and got away with minor sentences by claiming to be addicts needing the drug because of addiction.

Relevant bits of the law (with trafficking loophole in Article 81):

Article 78
(1) Anybody whomsoever without any rights or illegally:
a. Grow, cultivate, have in stock, possess, keep, or controls narcotics Category I in the form of plants; or
b. Possess, keep in stock, or control narcotics Group 1, other than in the form of plants, shall be punished with an imprisonment of not more than ten years and a fine of not more than IDR. 500,000,000.00 (Five hundred million rupiahs).

Article 80
(1) Anyone whomsoever without any rights or illegally:
a. Produces, processes, extracts, converts, composes, or prepares narcotics Category I shall be punished with a death sentence, or life sentence, or imprisonment of not more than 20 years and a fine of not more than IDR. 1,000,000,000. (One billion rupiahs)

Article 81
(1) Anyone whomsoever without any rights or illegally:
a. Brings, sends, transports, or transits narcotic category I shall be punished with an imprisonment of not more than fifteen (15) years and a fine of not more than IDR750,000,000. (seven hundred fifty million rupiahs).

Article 82
(1) Anyone whomsoever without any rights or illegally:
a. Imports, exports, offers for sale, distributes, sells, buys, delivers, acts as broker or exchanges narcotics Category I, shall be punished with a death penalty, or life sentence, or imprisonment of not more than twenty (20) years, and a fine of not more than IDR 1,000,000,000. (one billion rupiah).

Article 84
Anyone whomsoever without any rights or illegally:
a. Uses narcotics Category I for other person or provides narcotics Category I to be used by other person shall be punished with an imprisonment of not more than fifteen (15) years, and a fine of not more than IDR. 750,000,000.00 (seven hundred and fifty million rupiahs).

Article 85
Anyone whomsoever without any rights or illegally:
a. takes narcotics Category I for personal use shall be punished with an imprisonment of not more four (4) years.

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Comments by detikcom's readers sort-of mirror the attitudes of Piss Salon and the Capt.

20/02/2008 21:54 WIB
Penyelundupan Kokain Rp 2 M di Bandara Cengkareng Digagalkan
Anwar Khumaini - detikcom

Jakarta - Kantor Bea dan Cukai Bandara Soekarno Hatta menggagalkan penyelundupan kokain seberat 530 gram atau senilai Rp 2 miliar. Barang haram ini dibawa 3 pelaku pelaku yang semuanya berkewarganegaraan asing....

Komentar terkini (2 Komentar)

tanya kenapa?, biasa deeeh.... UUD = Ujung Ujung nya Duit....

Aming, kalau gak salah hukumannya harus hukum mati ya.. aparat jangan melempem ya..biar mereka pada kapok

"put them to death, so that they learn their lesson."

hmmm.

From Stairway to Heaven to Highway to Hell

I am sure that he will wish the weapons he see's next were water pistols......

I'll get my coat now!

"If John "Gerrard" is who it's rumored to be on the jungle drums then that is indeed most unfortunate"

I am assuming this is the well-known UK expat who has been established in the blok m bar scene for quite some time...no?

it is indeed

Hang them all. Deadly destroyers!

Typically enlightened, reasoned weltanschauung expressed by Mr. O. there
BAAAA! MOOOOO!

weltanschauung =

I dont speak German. But strangely I think I kinda got the idea...

it's all getting silly. Has this one been up before? Seriously this one is quite an amazing psychological test for net related porn dementia.