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rosecutors at Denpasar District Court demanded 17 years imprisonment to an Iran national for his attempt to smuggle crystal methamphetamine in to Bali.

The prosecutors told the court Monday that Rouhollah Serish Abadi bin Samad had been legally and convincingly guilty of being a drug courier during his trip from Doha, Qatar, to the resort island.

The 26-year-old man had violated article 113 of the 2009 Narcotics Law, prosecutor I Made Tangkas said.

“We ask judges to hand down 17 years imprisonment and Rp 2 billion [US$220,000] fines to the defendant,” he said.

“Testimonies from witnesses and facts revealed during the sessions have proven his role as drug courier in this plot.”

In response to the prosecution, the defendant said he would make his plea in the following session next week.

Rouhollah was apprehended by Customs and Excise officers at the arrival gate of Ngurah Rai International Airport moments after he landed from Doha on May, 13. The officers caught him with 1.047 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine inside his luggage.

The defendant admitted he was paid $2,000 to take the drugs in to Bali.

Also Monday, the Denpasar District Court handed down a nine year sentence and Rp 100 million in fines to Roby Sugihartono and Suhadi Lumanto for committing fraud using automatic teller machines.

Presiding judge Posma Nainggolan told the court the defendant had been proven guilty for theft and money laundering. The sentence is lighter than the 13 years demanded by the prosecutors.

Both defendants admitted that they committed the fraud upon order by a local man named Hendry Hartanto, who remains at large.

They withdrew the money from the ATM by copying customers’ personal identification numbers using a “skimmer” they installed at several ATMs around Kuta and Sanur.

Roby was paid Rp 200 million for committing the fraud since late 2008 until late last year, while Suhadi received Rp 70 million for his actions over three months.

A team from the National Police arrested both men in Surabaya in February. The police seized a deposit worth Rp 100 million, a savings account of Rp 22.6 million and Rp 80 million of cash from Roby, as well as the savings account of Rp 7 million from Suhadi.

The police recorded the theft occurred in 146 ATMs across Bali, 14 machines in Jakarta and a dozen others in several cities, causing banks to suffer a total of Rp 5 billion in losses.