Latest news with #DenpasarDistrictCourt
New York Post
2 days ago
- General
- New York Post
3 British nationals accused of smuggling drugs face the death penalty in Indonesia
Three British nationals accused of smuggling over two pounds of cocaine into Indonesia were charged Tuesday in a court on the tourist island of Bali. They face the death penalty under the country's strict drug laws. Convicted drug smugglers in Indonesia are sometimes executed by firing squad. Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 28, and Lisa Ellen Stocker, 29, were arrested on Feb. 1 after customs officers halted them at the X-ray machine after finding suspicious items in their luggage disguised as food packages, said prosecutor I Made Dipa Umbara. 3 Phineas Float, Jonathan Collyer and Lisa Stocker arrive at the star of their trial hearing at Denpasar District Court in Bali on June 3, 2025. AP Umbara told the District Court in Denpasar that a lab test result confirmed that ten sachets of Angel Delight powdered dessert mix in Collyer's luggage combined with seven similar sachets in his partner's suitcase contained 2.19 pounds of cocaine, worth an estimated $368,000. Two days later, authorities arrested Phineas Ambrose Float, 31 after a controlled delivery set up by police in which the other two suspects 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 Feb. 7. 3 Collyer and Stocker were arrested on Feb. 1 after customs officers halted them at the X-ray machine after finding suspicious items in their luggage disguised as food packages. AP After the charges against the group of three were read, the panel of three judges adjourned the trial until June 10, when the court will hear witness testimony. Both the defendants and their lawyers declined to comment to media after the trial. 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. 3 After the charges against the group of three were read, the panel of three judges adjourned the trial until June 10, when the court will hear witness testimony. AP 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 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.
Metro
27-05-2025
- Metro
British man avoids death by firing squad after ‘smuggling ecstasy into Bali'
A British man avoided being sentenced to death after he allegedly smuggled a kilo of MDMA into Bali, Indonesia. Thomas Parker, from Cumbria, was arrested at a villa on Kuta beach on January 21 for coming into contact with a drug package. The electrician 'acted suspiciously' when collecting the package from a motorcycle taxi driver before throwing it and fleeing when police approached, according to court documents. A laboratory test found the package contained 1.055kg of MDMA, also known as ecstasy. Parker, 32, proved to police that he did not order the package – it was sent by his friend of two years, Nicky, whom he regularly spoke to on Telegram. He was told the package was completely safe and someone else would come and collect it later. Parker was not being paid for the pick-up. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Parker was initially charged with drug trafficking and could have faced the death penalty by firing squad if found guilty. However, as the package was not directly tied to Parker, the offence was dropped, and he was charged with the less serious offence of hiding information from authorities. Prosecutors tried to seek a one-year prison sentence for Parker, but a Denpasar District Court judge decreased it as he regretted his actions. Parker was sentenced to 10 months today. He does not plan to appeal, he said after the ruling. He said: 'I really, really regret everything that has happened. 'I am sorry and will follow the judge's decision.' Indonesia has harsh anti-drug laws and has long imposed severe penalties for drug smuggling, many of them foreigners. The use of the death penalty is sporadically enforced – not a single prisoner was put to death from 2009 to 2012, and the last executions were in 2016. Some 530 people are on death row for drug charges in Indonesia, including 96 foreigners, according to ministry of immigration and corrections data. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Why it was important police were quick to point out the Liverpool suspect is white MORE: Four people still 'very ill in hospital' after car crashed into Liverpool fans MORE: Crowds held back from lunging into police van after Liverpool victory parade crash
26-05-2025
Indonesian police arrest an Australian man for allegedly smuggling cocaine to Bali
DENPASAR, Indonesia -- Indonesian authorities arrested an Australian for allegedly smuggling cocaine on the tourist island of Bali, a charge that could carry the death penalty, officials said Monday. The Southeast Asian country has extremely strict drug laws, and convicted smugglers are sometimes executed by firing squad. The 43-year-old man from Sydney was arrested May 22, after police raided his rented house near Kuta beach, a popular tourist spot, and seized 1.7 kilograms (3.7 pounds) cocaine in 206 clip plastic bags, along with a digital scale and cellular phone, said Bali Police Chief Daniel Adityajaya. The arrest followed an investigation conducted by Bali Police anti-drug surveillance teams who reported the man had received two suspicious packages sent by mail from England, Adityajaya said. 'He is suspected of importing or distributing class 1 narcotics,' Adityaja told a news conference in the provincial capital, Denpasar. 'He is threatened with the death penalty or life imprisonment.' Adityajaya said a preliminary investigation showed that the Australian had ordered a motorcycle taxi driver through the Grab online service on May 21, to pick up two packages at a post office in Denpasar. The driver was told to hand the two packages to a motorcycle taxi driver from another online service, who was ordered to deliver them to the Australian's rented house, Adityajaya said. Police on Monday presented the accused at the news conference. He was wearing an orange detainee jumpsuit and a buff mask, with his hands handcuffed. The man did not make a statement. 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. Denpasar District Court on Tuesday is scheduled to read out a verdict against Thomas Parker, a British national who was arrested on Jan. 21, after he allegedly collected a package containing drugs from a motorcycle taxi driver. Indonesian authorities arrested an Argentinian woman and a British man in March for allegedly smuggling 324 grams (0.7 pounds) of cocaine on the tourist island of Bali. 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. ___
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Cumbrian man who was suspected of drug trafficking apologises to Indonesian court
A CUMBRIAN man on trial for drug offences has pleaded for leniency in a court on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali after a charge that could carry the death penalty was dropped. Thomas Parker, originally from Workington, was arrested on January 21 at a villa near Kuta beach, a popular tourist spot, after he allegedly collected a package from a motorcycle taxi driver at a nearby street. According to the court document obtained by the Associated Press, Parker was noticed 'acting suspiciously' by officers. He allegedly discarded the package in a panic and fled when police approached him. He was traced back to the villa where he was staying and was arrested. The court document said a lab test result confirmed the package contained slightly more than a kilogram of MDMA, the main ingredient in ecstasy. Parker was initially charged with drug trafficking and could have faced the death penalty by firing squad if found guilty. However, the trafficking charge was dropped after police investigators determined that the package was not directly linked to him. The case went unreported until authorities showed a handcuffed Parker at a news conference on March 6. During the police investigation, the 32-year-old electrician was able to prove that he did not order the package. It was allegedly sent by a drug dealer friend, identified only as Nicky, who Parker had known for around two years and spoke to regularly through the Telegram messaging app. During the trial that began last month, Parker told the court he initially refused to collect the package but later agreed to do it after Nicky assured him that the package was safe and would not put him in danger. Parker was told someone would pick it up shortly from him, his lawyer, Edward Pangkahila, said. Parker was not promised money or anything else by Nicky in return, Mr Pangkahila said. Authorities reduced the charge from trafficking to the less serious offence of hiding information from authorities. Prosecutors on May 6 sought a one-year prison term for Parker. However, under Indonesian legal system, judges have an important role as legal determinants in a trial. They could seek further charges if applicable laws are unclear or non-existent, meaning that the trafficking charge could be reinstated. Mr Pangkahila said that Parker last met Nicky a year ago when he was on holiday in Thailand. As his friend was a dealer, Parker worried the package was filled with drugs and he panicked when he saw police officers on the street and was approached by them, Mr Pangkahila said. Wearing a white shirt and black trousers, Parker repeatedly expressed his remorse in his final plea on Tuesday and asked the panel of three judges in Denpasar District Court to consider his situation and impose a lenient sentence. 'I am very sorry and apologise, I know it was a mistake,' Parker said. 'I promise not to repeat it again, because I really didn't know that (the package) was drugs.' READ MORE: Cumbrian, 32, facing death penalty for 'drug dealing' in Bali After Parker read out his plea, Presiding Judge Gusti Ayu Akhirnyani adjourned the trial until May 27, when the judges will read out their sentence in a verdict. 'Until now, they (prosecutors) cannot prove that our client is a middleman or trafficker,' Mr Pangkahila said. 'He has no connection with any drug network, we hope the judges will come to the same conclusion.' He said his client is nervous and depressed as he faces trial. Indonesia has very strict drug laws and convicted traffickers can be executed by a firing squad. About 530 people are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, including 96 foreigners, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections' data showed. Indonesia's last executions, of an Indonesian and three foreigners, were carried out in July 2016.
Belfast Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
British man on trial in Bali pleads for lenient sentence
Thomas Parker, from Cumbria, was arrested on January 21 at a villa near Kuta beach, a popular tourist spot, after he allegedly collected a package from a motorcycle taxi driver at a nearby street. According to the court document obtained by the Associated Press, Parker was noticed 'acting suspiciously' by officers. He allegedly discarded the package in a panic and fled when police approached him. He was traced back to the villa where he was staying and was arrested. The court document said a lab test result confirmed the package contained slightly more than a kilogram of MDMA, the main ingredient in ecstasy. Parker was initially charged with drug trafficking and could have faced the death penalty by firing squad if found guilty. However, the trafficking charge was dropped after police investigators determined that the package was not directly linked to him. The case went unreported until authorities showed a handcuffed Parker at a news conference on March 6. During the police investigation, the 32-year-old electrician was able to prove that he did not order the package. It was allegedly sent by a drug dealer friend, identified only as Nicky, who Parker had known for around two years and spoke to regularly through the Telegram messaging app. During the trial that began last month, Parker told the court he initially refused to collect the package but later agreed to do it after Nicky assured him that the package was safe and would not put him in danger. Parker was told someone would pick it up shortly from him, his lawyer, Edward Pangkahila, said. Parker was not promised money or anything else by Nicky in return, Mr Pangkahila said. Authorities reduced the charge from trafficking to the less serious offence of hiding information from authorities. Prosecutors on May 6 sought a one-year prison term for Parker. However, under Indonesian legal system, judges have an important role as legal determinants in a trial. They could seek further charges if applicable laws are unclear or non-existent, meaning that the trafficking charge could be reinstated. Mr Pangkahila said that Parker last met Nicky a year ago when he was on holiday in Thailand. As his friend was a dealer, Parker worried the package was filled with drugs and he panicked when he saw police officers on the street and was approached by them, Mr Pangkahila said. Wearing a white shirt and black trousers, Parker repeatedly expressed his remorse in his final plea on Tuesday and asked the panel of three judges in Denpasar District Court to consider his situation and impose a lenient sentence. 'I am very sorry and apologise, I know it was a mistake,' Parker said. 'I promise not to repeat it again, because I really didn't know that (the package) was drugs.' After Parker read out his plea, Presiding Judge Gusti Ayu Akhirnyani adjourned the trial until May 27, when the judges will read out their sentence in a verdict. 'Until now, they (prosecutors) cannot prove that our client is a middleman or trafficker,' MrPangkahila said. 'He has no connection with any drug network, we hope the judges will come to the same conclusion.' He said his client is nervous and depressed as he faces trial. Indonesia has very strict drug laws and convicted traffickers can be executed by a firing squad. About 530 people are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, including 96 foreigners, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections' data showed. Indonesia's last executions, of an Indonesian and three foreigners, were carried out in July 2016.
