South African sentenced to life for drugs<\/p>\n
Agencies, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
The Denpasar District Court sentenced a South African man to life
\nimprisonment on Friday for smuggling heroin into Bali. John
\nGabrielle, 37, was found guilty of smuggling and trafficking
\nheroin.<\/p>\n
The verdict came only five days after Gabrielle's accomplice,
\nMartin Christopher Akujobi, was also sentenced to life in prison.<\/p>\n
\"(The court) declares the defendant ... guilty of breaking the
\nlaw by supplying Class 1 narcotics,\" presiding judge Linton
\nSiregar told the Denpasar District Court, as quoted by Reuters
\nnews agency.<\/p>\n
The sentence was lighter than that demanded by prosecutors,
\nwho had requested the death sentence.<\/p>\n
Gabrielle and Akujobi were arrested in their hotel room in
\nAugust last year, shortly after they arrived in Bali from
\nJakarta. They were arrested in their hotel room with 2.3
\nkilograms of pure heroin in their possession.<\/p>\n
Responding to Friday's verdict, Gabrielle's lawyer, Christo
\nImmanuel Dugis, said his client would appeal.<\/p>\n
The same court is trying Australian drug suspect Schapelle
\nCorby, 27, who on Wednesday begged the judges to set her free.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors requested the week before that Corby be sentenced
\nto life in prison for attempting to smuggle 4.1 kilograms of
\nmarijuana into Bali last year. The court is set to announce its
\nverdict in two weeks.<\/p>\n
Corby's trial is being closely watched in Australia. Last
\nweek's arrest of nine other Australians for attempting to
\ntransport nearly 11 kilograms of heroin out of Bali has brought
\nBali into the limelight and earned the island a reputation of
\nbeing a drug hub for drug couriers.<\/p>\n
The recent arrest and spat of court prosecutions indicate that
\nsecurity personnel are getting tougher on drug traffickers and
\nusers, especially in Bali.<\/p>",
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