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View all search resultsProsecutors seek light penalties for Argentine, British nationals in Bali drug case
The relatively light sentence demand for an Argentine woman and British man on trial for drug trafficking at a Denpasar court reflects a growing trend of leniency toward foreigners charged with drug offenses in recent years since a moratorium on executions in 2017.
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Codefendants Eleonora Gracia (left, front) of Argentina and Elliot James Shaw of Britain wait to be called in for a hearing on July 10, 2025, in their drug trafficking trial at the Denpasar District Court. (Jakarta Post/Ni Komang Erviani)
A
n Argentine woman and a British man on trial for smuggling cocaine into Bali face respective sentences of nine and six years, an unusually lenient demand in the country, which is known for some of the world’s harshest drug penalties including capital punishment.
Argentine national Eleonora Gracia, 46, was arrested in March at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport after authorities found 244 grams of cocaine in a condom concealed in her body.
Gracia told investigators she had been paid US$200 by a man named Royal to transport the drug from Mexico to Bali. She was promised an additional US$3,000 on successfully delivering the narcotic to British national Elliot James Shaw, 50, who was apprehended shortly afterward at a hotel in North Kuta, Badung regency.
Prosecutor Made Dipa told the Denpasar District Court on July 10 that Gracia and Shaw had violated Article 112 of the 2009 Narcotics Law on trafficking over 5 grams of Schedule I narcotics, which carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
“However, prosecutors took into account the respectful conduct of the defendants during the trial, their admission of wrongdoing and their expression of remorse as mitigating factors,” Made said.
Schedule I narcotics refer to substances of which the production, distribution or use is only permitted for approved research purposes under Indonesian law and include cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
Following the indictment and sentence demand, Gracia broke down in tears before the panel of judges presided by Judge Tenny Erma Suryanthi.
