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