Australians in Indonesia receive government drugs email

Australians in Indonesia receive government drugs email

Agence France-Presse, Sydney, Australia

Thousands of Australians living in Indonesia have been sent an
email from their government warning them against using or
trafficking drugs, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
said on Friday.

The unprecedented email, which was sent by the embassy in
Jakarta to more than 3,000 citizens, follows a string of arrests
of Australians on drug charges in Indonesia.

The email warns Australians "about the dangers of being in
possession of, or trafficking in, drugs," Downer said.

Downer said while the government kept in touch with the
Australian community in several countries via email, it had
"never really felt it necessary to send out an email with such a
blatantly obvious message on it."

"I just think it is important that we continue to remind
people -- no matter how obvious I would have thought it was to
them -- that being caught in possession of drugs in Indonesia
carries with it very heavy jail terms and caught trafficking in
drugs can even bring the death penalty," he told reporters.

"I think we can't do enough to continue to remind people of
that."

Twelve young Australians face execution or long prison
sentences in Indonesia for drug offenses, including two people
arrested last week.

Model Michelle Leslie, 24, faces up to 15 years in jail if
convicted of possessing two ecstasy tablets while teacher Graham
Clifford Payne, 20, is facing 10 years on heroin charges.

In May, former beauty student Schapelle Corby, 28, was jailed
for 20 years for smuggling marijuana from Australia to Bali.

Downer said the email was a reminder that Indonesia, along
with other Southeast Asian countries, had severe penalties for
people caught with illegal substances.

"I think that some people think that they can just get away
with it, that they won't get caught, it won't happen to them," he
said.

"But they need to remember the Indonesians are putting a lot
of energy into cracking down on drugs in Indonesia, they are
making a major effort.

"So are a number of other governments in Southeast Asia."