Denpasar. A British woman is set to be tried in Bali soon for allegedly smuggling 4.7 kilograms of cocaine into the island, an offense punishable by death.
“Her dossier is complete and the trial will start soon,” Bali Prosecutor's Office spokesman Eko Indarno said on Monday.
Lindsay June Sandiford, a 56-year-old British lawyer, was arrested by customs officials at the Ngurah Rai International Airport on May 19, 2012, after arriving from Bangkok, Thailand.
The drugs, estimated to have a street value of more than Rp 23 billion ($2.5 million), were found in her suitcase.
Sandiford, who appeared emotional on Monday when she arrived at the prosecutor's office, hit a photographer with her bag.
“Don't look at my face,” she yelled as he tried to take her photo.
She was supposed to be detained at Kerobokan Prison but her lawyer claimed that she was not “mentally ready,” so she was taken back to the Bali Police detention center.
Sandiford is believed to be the courier in an international drug smuggling syndicate comprising four Britons and one Indian national.
Her arrest led Bali Police to the recipients of the drugs: British nationals Rachel Dougall, Julian AP and Paul B, and Indian national Nanda Gophal.
Police said Sandiford was supposed to hand over the cocaine to Julian, the alleged boss of the syndicate. Julian was arrested in Karangasem with 4.7 kilograms of cocaine in his car trunk. He eventually took the police to his villa, where they arrested Rachel, who police say had 45 grams of cocaine in her possession.
Police also arrested Gophal at Julian's villa, and said they eventually found 78 plastic bags containing 279.3 gram crystal methamphetamine in Gophal's villa in North Kuta.
Paul was arrested at a separate location in Karangasem, and police say they found 3.1 gram of hashish at his residence.
The five suspects are charged with 2009 law on Narcotics, and may face the death penalty.
Source: JakartaGolbe, Sept. 10, 2012
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