Australian gets six months for drug crime
Australian gets six months for drug crime
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar
The Denpasar District Court sentenced on Monday an Australian
citizen to six months' imprisonment for making ephedrine tablets,
a drug that is outlawed in the country.
The prison term was lighter than that demanded by prosecutor
Ni Made Herawati, who sought a 10-months jail sentence in an
earlier court session.
As the 37-year-old defendant, Curral Christopher, has already
been detained for six months in Krobokan Penitentiary, Denpasar,
his release is scheduled for Tuesday.
After the verdict was read out by Judge I Gusti Lanang Dauh,
Christopher, who wore a blue shirt and blue jeans, quickly moved
out of the court building, ignoring journalists' questions.
The defendant, who comes from Sydney, was arrested by Bali
Police detectives in September last year. He was arrested just
prior to sending 54,645 ephedrine tablets and one kilogram of
ephedrine powder to Darwin, Australia through a courier service.
According to Bali Police Headquarters chief of detectives Adj.
Sr. Comr. Bambang Sugiharto, ephedrine can also be used as an
ingredient of ecstasy pills.
The tablets and ephedrine powder, which were intended for the
Australian market, had been packed into a large flower pot that
was placed in a 90-centimeter-square box. The box had been
entrusted to a courier company located on Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai
Sanur, Bali, which had agreed to deliver it to an Australian
address.
What is Ephedrine?
Ephedrine is a crystalline alkaloid extracted from ephedras,
shrub-like plants that are found in desert regions in central
Asia and other parts of the world. The dried greens of the plant
are used medicinally. Ephedra is a stimulant containing the
herbal form of ephedrine, a Food and Drug Agency (FDA)-regulated
drug found in over-the-counter asthma medications.
Ephedrine is widely used for weight loss, as an energy booster
and to enhance athletic performance.
Ephedra's main active medical ingredients are the alkaloids
ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. The FDA has received more than 800
reports of adverse effects associated with use of products
containing ephedrine alkaloid since 1994. These serious adverse
effects include hypertension, palpitations and neurophathy (nerve
damage).
The agency has proposed to prohibit the marketing of dietary
supplements containing 8 milligrams or more of ephedrine
alkaloids per serving.
Source: www.ephedrine-
ephedra.com/pages/what_is_ephedrine_1234.html