Brits could face death penalty for ‘smuggling cocaine in Angel Delight sachets'
Three British nationals accused of smuggling over two pounds of cocaine into Indonesia are facing the death penalty under the country's strict drug laws.
Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 28, and Lisa Ellen Stocker, 29, were arrested on 1 February after customs officers found suspicious items, disguised as food packages, in their luggage, according to prosecutor I Made Dipa Umbara.
On Tuesday, Mr Umbara told the district court in Denpasar, Bali, that a lab test result confirmed that 10 sachets of Angel Delight powdered dessert mix in Collyer's luggage, combined with seven similar sachets in his partner's suitcase, contained 993.56 grams (2.19 pounds) of cocaine.
The drugs were worth an estimated 6 billion rupiah (£272,212), Mr Umbara said.
Two days later, authorities arrested Phineas Ambrose Float, 31, after a controlled delivery set up by police in which the other two suspects allegedly handed the drug to him in the parking area of a hotel in Denpasar. He is being tried separately.
The drugs were brought from England to Indonesia with a transit in the Doha international airport in Qatar, Umbara said.
The group successfully smuggled cocaine into Bali on two previous occasions before being caught on their third attempt, said Ponco Indriyo, the Deputy Director of the Bali Police Narcotics Unit, during a news conference in Denpasar on 7 February.
After the charges against the group of three were read on Tuesday, the panel of three judges adjourned the trial until 10 June, when the court will hear witness testimony.
Both the defendants and their lawyers declined to comment to media after the trial.
Death row prisoners in Indonesia are sometimes executed by firing squad.
About 530 people, including 96 foreigners, are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections' data showed. Indonesia's last executions, of an Indonesian and three foreigners, were carried out in July 2016.
A British woman, Lindsay Sandiford, now 69, has been on death row in Indonesia for more than a decade. She was arrested in 2012 when 3.8 kilograms (8.4 pounds) of cocaine was discovered stuffed inside the lining of her luggage at Bali's airport. Indonesia's highest court upheld the death sentence for Sandiford in 2013.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says Indonesia is a major drug-smuggling hub despite having some of the strictest drug laws in the world, in part because international drug syndicates target its young population.
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Daily Mail
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Female cocaine dealer who enjoyed drugs-funded luxury life of Louis Vuitton handbags and holidays must pay back £100,000 she made from crime
A woman who ran a cannabis and cocaine dealing operation to fund her lavish has been ordered to pay back £100,000. Danielle Stafford, 31, from Hallgate, Cottingham, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years in April 2023 after pleading guilty to three offences. Before Hull Crown Court, she admitted to being concerned in supplying heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis, and another of possessing cash as criminal property on dates spanning October 2017 and May 2020. The former University of Hull graduate made so much money from selling drugs that she splashed out on nine luxury watches, three Louis Vuitton handbags and even a second house. The case resurfaced this week as the court determined how much money Stafford made from criminal activities - and how much she would be ordered to pay back. With Stafford attending the hearing via a video link from prison, prosecutor Nadim Bashir confirmed a criminal benefit figure had been agreed at £96,263. She has been ordered to pay this amount within three months or face another year of prison time, to be served consecutively. During the original trial, it was revealed that Stafford was caught by pure chance when she was stopped for speeding and officers could smell cannabis coming from her silver Audi on May 12, 2020. When questioned about the stench, Stafford 'immediately lied', telling police: 'I'll be honest, I've got this' and handed over a small silver wrap containing two buds of cannabis skunk. Police went onto find more drugs on her including two food bags containing cannabis skunk. On the way to the police station, Stafford was seen 'fidgeting' with her jogging bottoms and she was asked if she had any more drugs hidden. She said: 'Yes, but it's not mine and I don't know what it is. I shoved it down my joggers when you pulled me.' Stafford pulled out a bag containing cocaine. There were 56 wraps of crack cocaine, valued at £2,800. An iPhone was also found with drug messages on it. 'From the moment of seizure of the drugs to the arrival in the police station custody suite, the mobile iPhone was constantly ringing and receiving messages from different people,' said Mr Bashir. 'Some 30 phone calls were received and 10 to 20 text messages.' After forcing entry, officers found £26,917 cash stashed around her three-bedroom home in Cottingham and drugs with a street value of £33,600. She also had luxury goods including nine watches and three expensive Louis Vuitton handbags, Hull Crown Court heard. A glass jar with plastic drugs bags inside it was found hidden behind a bag of coal bricks in the rear garden. There, officers found 270 wraps of crack cocaine, valued at £13,500, and 205 wraps of heroin, valued at £4,100, in the jar. Stafford denied knowledge of them. In the living room, herbal cannabis, valued at £2,500, was found in an open, empty banana box on a table. She denied that it belonged to her. Two glass jars were found to contain cannabis valued at £370. Police also found weighing scales, a large amount of cash and more food bags. She admitted that this belonged to her. In Stafford's bedroom, herbal cannabis and Ecstasy tablets were discovered alongside wads of cash Wads of cash. More cash, totalling £7,580, was found in a safe but she denied that it was hers. Three Louis Vuitton handbags and nine watches were uncovered. She admitted that these were hers but pretended the designer items were fake or had merely been given to her by family members from their holidays to places like Turkey and Spain. In an upstairs box room, cash bundles of £9,100, £1,668, £550, £700, £1,110, £165, £190 and £91 were found. Examination of Stafford's bank accounts revealed a string of luxury holidays had been taken. Mr Bashir said this was 'evidence of an additional stream of cash income' apart from her monthly wages from working for Swift Group. 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'The contents of her home address in Hallgate, Cottingham, is strong evidence of the nature of her drugs business. The amount, type and value of drugs found at her home were substantial. The drugs alone were street valued at £33,600. This is sustained drug dealing.' During the 2023 hearing, Saleema Mahmood, mitigating, said that Stafford was dealing cannabis but claimed that her involvement in Class A dealing came about due to her association with a person from Liverpool. She argued that evidence of any Class A dealing was extremely limited and came from two sets of messages. The lawyer claimed there was an element of naivety and exploitation in Stafford's involvement and she had little influence on those above her in the chain. Stafford also said that her family was in the habit of keeping large amounts of cash at home, rather than in a bank, and that she was entrusted to look after it for others as she was seen as being a 'responsible' person who could be 'trusted' with money. 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The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Luxury-loving engineer, 31, who ran drug empire to fund lavish holidays & buy second home ordered to pay back just £96k
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Engineer and University of Hull graduate Stafford, 31, formerly of Hallgate, Cottingham, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years in April 2023 after she admitted three offences of being concerned in supplying heroin, crack cocaine and cannabis and another of possessing cash as criminal property, on dates spanning October 2017 and May 2020. But the case resurfaced and was mentioned again so that the court could make a final decision on how much money Stafford was said to have made from her criminal activities. Nadim Bashir, prosecuting, said that the criminal benefit figure had been agreed at £96,263. She was ordered to pay it within three months – or face a default prison sentence of one year, to be served consecutively. Stafford attended the hearing via a video link from prison. 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There were 56 wraps of crack cocaine, valued at £2,800. Her three-bedroom home in Cottingham was searched after police forced entry. A glass jar with plastic bags inside was found hidden behind a bag of coal bricks in a coal bunker in the rear garden. From the moment of seizure of the drugs to the arrival in the police station custody suite, the mobile iPhone was constantly ringing and receiving messages from different people Nadim Bashirprosecuting There were 270 wraps of crack cocaine, valued at £13,500, and 205 wraps of heroin, valued at £4,100, in the jar. Stafford denied knowledge of them. In the living room, herbal cannabis, valued at £2,500, was found in an open, empty banana box on a table. She denied that it belonged to her. Two glass jars contained cannabis valued at £370. Police also found weighing scales, a large amount of cash and more food bags. She admitted that this belonged to her. In Stafford's bedroom, £430 cash and £25.36 in coins were found. Herbal cannabis and Ecstasy tablets were found. Bank notes totalling £670 were found as well as £2,350 and £1,480 cash. More cash, totalling £7,580, was found in a safe but she denied that it was hers. Three Louis Vuitton handbags and nine watches were found. She admitted that these were hers. 8 8 In an upstairs box room, cash bundles of £9,100, £1,668, £550, £700, £1,110, £165, £190 and £91 were found. Examination of Stafford's bank accounts revealed that "she clearly had an additional stream of cash income" apart from her monthly wages from working for Swift Group. Holidays had been taken but there was no trace from her bank account of her buying foreign currency or making purchases overseas. "Again, evidence of an additional cash stream income," said Mr Bashir. Stafford had bought her Cottingham home in March 2016 for £124,999 in her sole name with a mortgage and a property in Hotham Road South in July 2018 without a mortgage for £68,500 in equal shares with her aunt. Stafford paid the "lion's share" of £64,927 from cashing in premium bonds and she told police that she bought it to rent out. "Even with rental or lodgings allowances, neither property was able to provide any significant source of income to justify the cash found in the house," said Mr Bashir. During police interview, Stafford claimed that a Liverpool lad had been staying with her on and off and that he had telephoned her to say that he had left something at her home. She had somehow managed to avoid her drug dealing activities coming to the attention of the police for a substantial period of time. Nadim BashirProsecuting When she got home, there was a large amount of cannabis and, when he asked her to take it to him, she said that she did not feel comfortable doing so. She claimed that he asked her just to bring a bag which was there and, in a panic, she grabbed a bag and was driving to meet him. Stafford denied that she or the lad were dealing drugs but later admitted that she would drive to Liverpool and bring him back to Hull. She denied knowledge of any of the large amounts of cash found around her home, claiming that she looked after it for the lad, including keeping it for him in her own bedroom, apart from £2,350 which belonged to her. "She said that the money in the safe had nothing to do with her and all the other cash belonged to the lad," said Mr Bashir. He told the court that Stafford was an "enthusiastic" cannabis dealer and progressed to becoming a Class A cocaine dealer. "She had somehow managed to avoid her drug dealing activities coming to the attention of the police for a substantial period of time," said Mr Bashir. "The natural result of this was that she was able to accumulate a substantial amount of wealth, including purchasing an investment property, a house to rent. "Cash found in her home address amounted to £26,917. "The contents of her home address in Hallgate, Cottingham, is strong evidence of the nature of her drugs business. "The amount, type and value of drugs found at her home were substantial. The drugs alone were street valued at £33,600. This is sustained drug dealing." During the 2023 hearing, Saleema Mahmood, mitigating, said that Stafford was street dealing cannabis and regularly and frequently took part in this. She claimed that her involvement in Class A dealing arose through a person from Liverpool. Evidence of any Class A dealing was extremely limited and came from two sets of messages. This came much later than the cannabis enterprise. There was an element of naivety and exploitation in her involvement and she had little influence on those above her in the chain. Stafford claimed that she had only the "odd piece" of designer item and that so-called expensive watches and other items bought were counterfeit or had been bought as presents for her by her family on holidays to places like Turkey and Spain. She also claimed that the family was in the habit of keeping large amounts of cash at home, rather than in a bank, and that she was entrusted to look after them for family members because she was seen as being a "responsible" person who could be "trusted" with money. She had shown remorse for what she had done. There were references from previous employers and others. She had tried to get work and had done voluntary work.
The Independent
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Mea Culpa: the Ukrainian army's modern version of ancient heroics
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