The presiding judge, Nurhadi, who read out the court ruling in turns with panel members Ricky M. Nazario and Dwi Andriani, said Mufaddam, aka Fadal, of Aceh had been proven guilty of violating articles 114 (2), 115 (2) and 112 (2) of Law No.35/2009 on narcotics.

Nurhadi said the defendant was also a member of an international drug ring as his action had been monitored by an accomplice, Rizal, from Malaysia.

'€œWhen the defendant picked up the crystal meth from Panton Labu, Rizal contacted him straightaway on his cellular phone and explained to him that the payment he would receive for transporting the drugs was Rp 20 million [US$1,500],'€ the judge said.

Nurhadi further said that when the defendant was transporting the crystal meth in a van with a North Sumatra license plate, his Malaysian accomplice kept contacting him.

'€œThe defendant'€™s act cannot be tolerated because millions of sons of this nation could have become [drug] victims. Therefore, the court sentences him to death,'€ Nurhadi said.

Mufaddam was caught during a security search conducted by the Besitang Police on Dec.4, 2014, when he was traveling in the van. The police found white powder suspected to be crystal meth weighing 4.2 kilograms in a black bag in his possession.

Mufaddam'€™s lawyer, Syahrial, said he would appeal the sentence. (ebf)(++++)

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