About 530 people are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug‑related crimes, including 96 foreigners
Indonesian authorities said Thursday that two foreign nationals were arrested in connection with cocaine smuggling, and four other foreigners received sentences in separate trials.
A 25-year-old Brazilian man, identified by the initials YB, was apprehended upon arrival from Dubai on July 13. Authorities found 3,086 grams (6.8 lb) of cocaine concealed in his suitcase and backpack, said Made Sinar Subawa, head of Bali’s narcotics eradication agency .
On the same day, customs officials discovered 990 grams (2.1 lb) of cocaine hidden in the underwear of a 32-year-old South African woman, identified as LN .
In Denpasar District Court, three British nationals—Jonathan Christopher Collyer, Lisa Ellen Stocker and Phineas Ambrose Float—were sentenced to one year in prison. Their original charges, which could have carried the death penalty, were downgraded. Defense attorneys argued the defendants unwittingly transported the drugs hidden among dessert-mix sachets. The court granted time served, making them eligible for release in seven months .
Separate verdicts also returned prison terms for two additional suspects: Argentine national Eleonora Gracia received seven years, while British man Elliot James Shaw received five years and was fined 1 billion rupiah ($61,380) for smuggling 244 grams of cocaine .
Indonesia enforces stringent drug laws, with around 530 individuals, 96 of whom are foreigners currently on death row for narcotics offenses . Although last executions occurred in July 2016, the country maintains a moratorium on capital punishment since 2017 .