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Australian gets 18 years for smuggling meth

Australian Michael Sacatides was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Denpasar District Court on Monday after being found guilty of attempting to smuggle 1

Desy Nurhayati (The Jakarta Post)
Denpasar
Tue, April 26, 2011

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Australian gets 18 years for smuggling meth

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ustralian Michael Sacatides was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Denpasar District Court on Monday after being found guilty of attempting to smuggle 1.7 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine into Bali.

The sentence handed down by the panel of judges presiding over the case was two years more than demanded by the prosecution.

“The defendant is guilty beyond doubt of importing drugs. [The court] hands down 18 years’ imprisonment and Rp 1 million in fines or an optional three months in jail,” presiding judge Sigit Sutanto said.

The panel of judges listed the factors that compelled them to opt for the heftier sentence, one of which was the large amount of drugs that the defendant had been carrying.

The judges also said the defendant’s action had negatively impacted Indonesia’s young generation and undermined the country’s efforts to stamp out drug trading.

Sacatides was arrested at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport on Oct. 1 last year, after customs officers found US$390,000 worth of crystal meth concealed in a hidden compartment of the suitcase he was carrying after he had arrived on a flight from Bangkok.

The 43-year-old kick-boxing instructor from Sydney had maintained his innocence, telling investigators that he had borrowed the suitcase from a man named Akaleshi Tripathi, aka Peter, who he knew in Bangkok, where he had been living and working for almost two years.

Lawyer Erwin Siregar said his client looked shocked when he heard the verdict.

“I think he was shocked, and I was shocked too. I never thought the sentence would be 18 years.

“We expected it to be less than the prosecutors’ demand or even that he would be released of all charges because my client didn’t know anything about the drugs,” he said.

He added that he had one week to decide whether he would file an appeal.

Sacatides’ lawyer said he had called on the police to find Peter.

“When this case was still being investigated, I explained to the police that they should contact Interpol to look for this man, but there has been no news.”

“I have given them his name, his address and what he does in Thailand. It would be easy to find him if they really wanted to.”

Nine Australian drug smuggling convicts, known as the Bali Nine, are currently serving lengthy jail sentences in Denpasar.

The nine Australian nationals — Martin Eric Stephens, Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Si Yi Chen, Tan Duc Than Nguyen, Scott Anthony Rush and Renae Lawrence — were arrested in Denpasar in 2005.

They were convicted of attempting to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin to Australia.

Their sentences ranged from 20 years in prison to the death penalty.

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