Sierra Leone citizen gets death for drug dealing<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan<\/p>\n
The Medan District Court in North Sumatra sentenced on Wednesday
\na 28-year-old foreigner to death for serving as a middleman in
\ninternational drug dealing.<\/p>\n
A panel of three judges, led by Dahlia Brahmana, accepted the
\nsentencing demand by prosecutors for Sierra Leone citizen Okonkwo
\nNonso Kingsle, saying there was no compelling reason to hand down
\na lighter sentence.<\/p>\n
Kingsle had committed \"highly professional and organized work
\nthat could endanger the lives of youths in the country\", the
\ncourt said.<\/p>\n
Kingsle was arrested by customs and excise officials on Oct.
\n25 last year at Polonia International Airport, Medan, upon
\narrival from Malaysia.<\/p>\n
An X-ray revealed 69 capsules of heroin weighing a total of
\n1.18 kilograms in his stomach.<\/p>\n
\"The defendant deserves the death sentence because we found no
\nmitigating circumstances in this case. He has been proven without
\na doubt to be a middleman in an international narcotics network
\nto deliver heroin from Pakistan to Indonesia,\" Judge Dahlia said.<\/p>\n
Kingsle was charged under Article 82 of Law No. 22\/1997 on
\nnarcotics, which carries a maximum penalty of death.<\/p>\n
Through an interpreter, Kingsle said he accepted the verdict,
\nand asked when he would be executed.<\/p>\n
During previous hearings at the court, Kingsle admitted that
\nhe brought the heroin from Pakistan. He said a man he met called
\nBruce offered him US$1,000 to bring the heroin to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Kingsle said that he agreed to act as a courier because he
\nneeded money.<\/p>\n
It is the second death sentence to be handed down by the Medan
\nDistrict Court, the first being in 1995 when the court convicted
\nIndian Ayodhya Prasadh Chaubey of possessing 12 kilograms of
\nheroin.<\/p>\n
Ayodhya has yet to be executed, pending appeal to the Supreme
\nCourt.<\/p>\n
Since enforcement of the 1997 Narcotics and Psychotropic
\nSubstances Law, local courts have sentenced at least 23 people to
\ndeath for drug dealing. Most of them were foreigners, most of
\nwhom were arrested at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in
\nTangerang, Banten.<\/p>\n
None has been executed to date.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sierra-leone-citizen-gets-death-for-drug-dealing-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }