Bangladeshi gets 20 years for drug trafficking in Bali

JAKARTA (JP): A citizen of Bangladesh has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by a court in Bali for attempting to smuggle 3.3 kilograms of heroin into the holiday island.

Denpasar Court, finding Abdul Kalam guilty, also fined him Rp 10 million (US$4,600), the Antara news agency reported.

The prosecution had earlier demanded life imprisonment.

Abdul, was stopped by customs officers at Denpasar's Ngurah Rai airport shortly after arriving on a Thai International flight from Bangkok last December.

He attracted suspicion as he tried to go through a counter designed for diplomatic passport holders although he did not carry such a passport himself. Upon inspection, they found the heroin stashed in his bag.

During the trial, Abdul insisted that he was simply carrying the bag for somebody else and that he was paid about $20 for the job. He could not identify the person other than say that he was of African appearance.

Abdul, 28 years old, is described as a lawyer from the city of Chittagong.

After the sentence was read, the defendant said he accepted the verdict and was not planning to appeal, according to his Indonesian lawyers. However he asked the court to send him to a jail in Malang, East Java, saying that he thought he could better perform his Islamic prayers there than if he was jailed in Bali.

His request is being considered by the court, Antara reported. (05)