South African woman gets 15 years in jai

Denpasar: The Denpasar District Court has sentenced 38-year-old South African woman Sheilla Motsweneng to 15 years in prison for trafficking 2.5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.

Presiding Judge AA Anom Wirakanta told the court on Monday that the defendant was guilty of violating the Law on Narcotics.

The defendant is required to pay a Rp 1 billion (US$107,000) fine or serve an additional one year in prison.

Previously, prosecutor Rindayani demanded 17 years in prison. Motsweneng was arrested on Oct. 23, 2011 upon arriving at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Tuban from Singapore.

She was caught carrying 2,458 grams of crystal meth.

Motsweneng said she was about to hand over the drugs to Elis Supradingrum. The police also arrested Supradiningrum and another drug dealer, Adiranto, in Sidoardjo, East Java.

In 2011, custom officials had detained seven foreign nationals, allegedly members of international drug rings, and confiscated nearly 3 kilograms of illegal drugs, 90 percent of which was crystal meth.

Bali is among several of the world’s top tourist destinations targeted by international drug rings bent on maximizing their profits from the growing and increasingly lucrative drug market.