British nationals jailed in Indonesia for drug offences
Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 28, and his partner Lisa Ellen Stocker, 29, were arrested on February 1 after customs officers found 993 grammes (2.2 pounds) of cocaine worth an estimated six billion rupiah (£271,731). The drugs were hidden among sachets of powdered dessert mix.
Advertisement
Two days later, authorities arrested Phineas Ambrose Float, 31, after a delivery of the drugs arranged by police.
During their June trial, defence lawyers argued their clients were unaware the food given to them in England contained cocaine.
On Thursday, the three-judge panel in Denpasar District Court handed down one-year prison terms for each defendant minus time served, making them eligible for release in seven months.
Separately, an Argentine woman was sentenced to seven years and a British man received a five-year sentence with a fine of one billion rupiah (£45,322) on charges of smuggling cocaine to Bali.
Advertisement
Eleonora Gracia, 46, was arrested in March at Bali's airport with 244 grammes (0.5 pounds) of cocaine. Authorities alleged she handed over the cocaine to Elliot James Shaw, 50, during a police sting operation at a Bali hotel.
A Brazilian national identified as YB, centre, and South African national identified as LN, right, during a press conference in Denpasar on Thursday (Firdia Lisnawati/AP)
The sentences were considered lenient as Indonesia typically hands out severe punishments for drug smuggling, including the death penalty.
Indonesian authorities also said they recently arrested a Brazilian man and a South African woman accused of smuggling cocaine.
The 25-year-old Brazilian man, identified by the initials YB, was arrested on July 13 shortly after arriving from Dubai and charged with carrying 3,086 grammes (6.8 pounds) of cocaine in his suitcase and backpack at Bali's Ngurah Rai international airport, said Made Sinar Subawa, head of the Eradication Division at Bali's Narcotic Agency.
Advertisement
The same day, customs officers seized 990 grammes (2.1 pounds) of cocaine they say was being carried in the underwear of a 32-year-old South African woman, identified as LN, it was said.
About 530 people are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, including 96 foreigners, according to Ministry of Immigration and Corrections data.
Indonesia's last executions of a citizen and three foreigners were carried out in July 2016. The country has upheld a moratorium on execution since 2017.
President Prabowo Subianto has moved to repatriate several high-profile foreign inmates, all sentenced to death or life in prison for drug offenses, back to their home countries since he took office in October.
Advertisement
A British woman, Lindsay Sandiford, now 69, has been on death row in Indonesia for more than a decade. She was arrested in 2012 with 3.8 kilograms (8.4 pounds) of cocaine in her luggage.
Serge Atlaoui, an ailing Frenchman, returned to France in February after Jakarta and Paris agreed to repatriate him on 'humanitarian grounds'.
Indonesia took Mary Jane Veloso off death row and returned her to the Philippines in December. In the same month, the government sent to Australia the five remaining members of a drug ring known as the 'Bali Nine'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
British drugs mule, 24, avoids jail in Germany after being caught with 20kg of marijuana in her suitcase from Thailand
A British mother was today let off with a two-year suspended sentence for trafficking drugs into Germany after being caught smuggling cannabis from Thailand. Cameron Bradford, 24, of Knebworth, Hertfordshire, was arrested at Munich Airport on April 22 after arriving from Bangkok when she attempted to collect her luggage. Authorities had become suspicious after she allegedly changed her flight at the last minute, having originally been due to fly to London Heathrow via Singapore. Her family had filed a missing person report after raising concerns when she did not return home as expected, but then learned the next day that she was in Germany. The mother-of-one appeared at Munich District Court today which heard she had worked as an escort for a man in Britain who had threatened her, reported BBC News. She was allegedly told to go to Thailand to pick up something for the man - and customs officials in Munich then found 20kg (about 45lb) of marijuana in her suitcase. Miss Bradford, who has a young son, was arrested, held in custody and charged with attempted transit of cannabis and abetting the international trafficking of cannabis. She claimed she did not know what was in the case, which was locked, but Judge Wilfried Dudek determined in court that the man had put her under pressure. Miss Bradford's arrest is one of a series of cases involving suspected young British female drug mules stopped by police at airports in countries around the world. Germany legalised cannabis for recreational use by adults in February 2024, but this did not extend to tourists - and the unauthorised import of the drug is illegal. Thailand decriminalised cannabis in 2022, but in June brought in new rules which restrict the sale of the drug to those with a doctor's prescription. A UK Border Force and Thai customs agreement called Operation Chaophraya which aims to reduce attempted cannabis smuggling was launched in July last year. The Home Office said in April that the scheme was working after cannabis arrivals by post from Thailand dropped by 90 per cent in the first three months of 2025. Parcels from Thailand must now be checked before they are shipped – and over 50 British nationals have been arrested in Thailand for attempted cannabis smuggling since the operation began. Earlier this week, two young Brits were jailed for six years after being caught trying to smuggle nearly 150lbs of cannabis in their luggage from Thailand to Zimbabwe. Tihaise Darlin Elisha, 19, and Taylor Tamara Simone, 21, were arrested at Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport in Harare on May 1, after the pair arrived on a flight from Thailand. Airport staff found their behaviour suspicious and carried out a search where they stumbled across the hidden stash of drugs. Police discovered 53 packets containing a total of 146lbs of 'loose skunky' cannabis, also known locally as dagga, tucked away inside four monarch suitcases. The drugs were concealed inside the cases which had been tagged with the offenders' names. The pair were seen in photographs standing and crouching sheepishly next to the cannabis-filled bags. Elisha and Simone were found guilty of drug trafficking by the Harare Magistrates' Court, according to a statement on Monday from Zimbabwe's National Prosecuting Authority. Each were sentenced to nine years in prison, with three years suspended on condition of good behaviour. Separately, MailOnline revealed last month that a British mother was arrested in Mauritius accused of trying to smuggle cannabis inside her six-year-old son's suitcase. British mother Natashia Artug, 35, was detained in Mauritius alongside seven other people accused of carrying more than 161 kilograms of the drug - worth £1.6 million - in their luggage Natashia Artug, 35, of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, was detained alongside seven other people accused of carrying more than 161kg of the drug - worth £1.6million - in their luggage. The boy's luggage alone is said to have had 24 packages of drugs wrapped in clear cellophane inside weighing 14kg. Campaign group Justice Abroad claimed Ms Artug is 'vulnerable' and was coerced into travelling to Mauritius by people involved in the drug trade who threatened her and her family, adding that she did not know the bags contained cannabis. Miss Artug's partner Florian Lisman, a 38-year-old Romanian, was also arrested and said to be carrying 32 drug packages, an iPhone and £260. The other Britons detained were Patrick Lee Wilsdon, 22, Lily Watson, 20, Shannon Ellen Josie Holness 29, Laura Amy Kappen 28, and Shona Campbell, 32, who each had between 30 and 32 packages, according to local newspaper Le Mauricien. They were all on the same British Airways flight from London Gatwick to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam airport in June. The suspects have all been charged with drug trafficking and remain in custody. A series of other cases in recent months have seen Brits arrested abroad for alleged drug smuggling. One of the most high profile involves 18-year-old Bella Culley, from Billingham in County Durham, who was arrested in Georgia in May after allegedly carrying 12kg of cannabis and 2kg of hashish into the country from Thailand, where she had been on holiday. In June her trial was postponed immediately after it began due to issues concerning evidence. She could face up to 15 years in jail if convicted, and her trial is due to take place in September. Another case in May saw 21-year-old Charlotte Lee May, from Coulsdon in South London locked up in a Sri Lankan prison after police allegedly discovered 46kg of 'Kush' - a synthetic strain of cannabis - in her suitcase when she arrived on a flight from Thailand. The former cabin crew member for Tui was placed in handcuffs after £1.15million worth of cannabis was allegedly found in her luggage – and could face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty. OnlyFans model Clara Wilson, 36, from Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire, allegedly tried to smuggle around £200,000 of Thai cannabis into Spain - with more than 34kg of cannabis found in her suitcases at Barcelona's El Prat Airport. British beautician Kimberly Hall, 29, from Middlesbrough, is in custody in the US after being accused of attempting to smuggle $6.2million of cocaine from Chicago O' Hare Airport to the UK, having come off a flight from Cancun in Mexico. Robert Brown, 41, from Newcastle, was arrested in Cambodia in June after allegedly attempting to smuggle nearly 20kg of marijuana into the UK - just hours after he was reported missing by his girlfriend. Police found 22 packages of cannabis weighing nearly 20kg hidden inside his luggage at Phnom Penh Airport. The drugs, which police believe originated in Thailand, are thought to have a street value of around £200,000. Brown has been charged with the use, possession, trafficking and transport of drugs and could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted. And 79-year-old William 'Billy Boy' Eastment, a bowls-loving pensioner from Somerset, faces dying in prison after he was allegedly intercepted at Santiago Airport in Chile with £200,000 worth of meth.
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Talking parrot helps bring down crime gang after it is caught on video repeating drug-dealing phrases
A talking parrot has helped bring down a major drug gang after it was caught saying 'two for 25' on camera. Mango the parrot was found when officers raided homes in Blackpool, where they seized large amounts of cocaine and heroin. Drug kingpin Adam Garnett and the 14 people who worked for him have today been jailed for a combined total of more than 103 years. Their illegal activities were first uncovered when Adam Garnett, who was already a serving prisoner, had a number of mobile phones and Wi-Fi routers discovered in a cell search. Police then connected Garnett to his second-in-command associates Dalbir Sandhu and Jason Gerrand as well as his girlfriend Shannon Hilton Their houses were searched and police found large quantities of drugs, cash, and phones all linking the gang to one another. Officers seized cash, heroin, crack cocaine, ketamine and cannabis, as well as mobile phones. They were forensically matched to the defendants. As part of the searches of the phone belonging to Shannon Hilton, Garnett's girlfriend, a number of videos were found. Footage showed Hilton teaching her pet parrot to say 'two for 25' in front of a child, and of the parrot playing with money which was gained through their illegal activities. Mango the parrot was seen saying 'two for 25' in front of a child, as well as playing with money which was gained through their illegal activities Drug kingpin Adam Garnett and the 14 people who worked for him have today been jailed for a total of more than 103 years More videos included evidence of video calls between Hilton and Garnett, videos of what appear to be kilo blocks of cocaine, with music including the lyric 'cocaine' over the top. The gang operated between February 2023 and July 2024 in the Blackpool area. Upon searching Sandhu's phone, it was found that Garnett often directed people to the trusted key member of the gang. He was found to have researched and sent links to stories discussing county lines to his contacts and kept a record in the notes of his phone of his dealings, including price lists and records of transactions. Despite being in prison, ringleader Garnett was involved in moving evidence so that police could not find it. It was also discovered that he had methods to communicate with nearly every member of the organised crime group he controlled. A number of videos were also found on Gareth Burgess' phone, including one which showed him walking through Blackpool, carrying a significant amount of cash, and rapping about his criminality. In total, 15 people were arrested, and following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, charged with offences. They all pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court. Adam Garnett, 35, of no fixed abode was charged with two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs. He was sentenced to 19 years and six months, which he will have to serve consecutive to his existing 15 year prison term. Shannon Hilton, 29, of no fixed abode was charged with two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and possession with intent to supply Class B drugs. She was sentenced to 12 years. Dalbir Sandhu, 41, of Chesterfield Road, Blackpool, was charged with two counts of conspiring to supply class A drugs and possession with intent to supply class A drugs. He was sentenced to 10 years . Jason Gerrand, 50, of no fixed abode, was charged with two counts of Conspiracy to supply Class A drugs . He was sentenced to eight years and three months. DS Anthony Alves of the Lancashire Police West Targeted Crime Team said: 'These people ran a sophisticated operation to supply class A drugs across Blackpool. 'Garnett continued to run his operation whilst in prison, communicating with the members of his organised crime gang through illegal methods. 'I welcome the sentences handed down today following the lengthy and complex investigation. I want to thank my team, the Crown Prosecution Service and our prosecution barristers Sarah Magill and Holly Nelson for their work in bringing these people to justice. 'Enquiries are ongoing to locate Chloe Stott and Ryan Black, who both failed to appear at court today. If you see them, or know where they may be, I would encourage you to let us know. 'We will continue to dismantle these gangs, whether they are operating behind bars or otherwise.' Clive Grunshaw, Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner said: 'Successful outcomes like this demonstrate officers' tireless work to protect the public and show that Lancashire is taking a relentless approach to tackling organised crime. 'I remain fully committed to supporting the Chief Constable, ensuring our officers and staff have the resources they need to dismantle criminal gangs, drive offenders out of our communities, and deliver justice.'
BBC News
21 hours ago
- BBC News
Two Chinese nationals charged with exporting Nvidia AI chips to China
Two Chinese nationals have been arrested and charged with illegally shipping millions of dollars' worth of powerful AI chips to China, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said on DOJ alleged that over the last three years ALX Solutions, a company it said was run by Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang, exported the chips from the US to China without the required documents seen by the BBC allege the shipments included Nvidia's H100 graphics processing units (GPUs), which have become a key focus of US export controls aimed at stopping China purchasing the cutting-edge case shows that smuggling its chips "is a nonstarter," an Nvidia spokesperson said. Nvidia sells products to well-known partners who help to ensure that all sales comply with US export control rules, she added."Even relatively small exporters and shipments are subject to thorough review and scrutiny, and any diverted products would have no service, support or updates."According to court documents, California-based ALX Solutions had three known employees: Mr Geng handled the firm's finances, Ms Yang was its secretary, while its chief executive was not named in the DOJ said the three individuals exercised "full decision-making authority and shipment coordination" for the Geng was a permanent resident of California, and Ms Yang, was an "illegal alien" who had overstayed her visa, a DOJ statement records showed the company sent goods several times from the US to shipping firms in Singapore and Malaysia between October 2022 and July 2025, the DOJ said, noting that both countries are used as transit hubs to "conceal illegal shipments" to never received payments from these shipping firms and would instead be paid by other companies based in Hong Kong and China. These included a $1m (£750,000) payment from a China-based firm in January 2024, said the December, ALX sent a shipment with export-restricted computing chips - including Nvidia's H100 and GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs - which was checked by US customs, according to court documents."Neither ALX Solutions nor Geng or Yang applied for or obtained a license from the Commerce Department," the documents one 2023 invoice valued at more than $28.4m, ALX allegedly declared to Super Micro Computer, a supplier of Nvidia chips, that the devices were ordered for a Singapore-based a US export control officer in Singapore could not verify that the chips arrived in the country and the company named did not exist at the listed location, the court document said."It appears that ALX Solutions shipped the Nvidia products to different end users."Super Micro did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC but said in a statement to the Reuters news agency that it was "firmly committed to compliance with all US export control regulations." It added that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case but would cooperate with authorities in any such Yang was arrested on Saturday while Mr Geng surrendered himself to the authorities soon after, the DOJ said. The pair appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday, the DOJ said. If found guilty they could face up to 20 years in Solutions does not appear to have a website, according to court documents. A website for ALX-Cloud, which specialises in cloud computing services, states that it is a subsidiary of the BBC was unable to immediately locate lawyers for Mr Geng and Ms Yang but has contacted ALX-Cloud to request a reporting by Peter Hoskins
