Colombian National Sentenced to 11 Years for Smuggling 3.4 kg of Cocaine into Bali

The Denpasar District Court has sentenced Colombian national Sebastian Arboleda Montoya (30) to 11 years in prison after he was found guilty of smuggling 3.4 kilograms of cocaine into Bali through I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. The verdict was read out by Presiding Judge Tenny Erma Suryathi, accompanied by panel members Syahbuddin and H. Sayuti, during a hearing in Denpasar on Thursday. The court declared that the defendant was legally and convincingly proven to have possessed Class I non-plant narcotics exceeding five grammes. In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a fine of Rp1 billion, with a subsidiary of 190 days’ imprisonment should the fine remain unpaid after one month. The sentence was lighter than the 16-year prison term and Rp1 billion fine sought by Public Prosecutor Dipa Umbara from the Bali High Prosecutor’s Office. The panel of judges considered several mitigating factors, including the defendant’s admission of guilt, his cooperative attitude during the trial, his expression of remorse, and his diagnosis of bipolar disorder. The aggravating factor was that his actions contravened the government’s efforts to eradicate narcotics trafficking. Following the verdict, both the defendant, accompanied by his legal counsel, and the public prosecutor stated they would consider their options. The case began around 01:00 WITA on 11 February 2026, when customs officers became suspicious of a black Samsonite suitcase carried by the defendant. An inspection revealed three black plastic packages containing cocaine with a gross weight of 3,471.58 grammes, or approximately 3.4 kilogrammes, and a net weight of 2,223.87 grammes. During questioning, the defendant claimed the suitcase was entrusted to him by an individual with the initials REA, who asked him to bring it to Bali for delivery to an unknown recipient. He was promised a fee of 5,000 euros but had only received 1,000 euros prior to departure. The defendant admitted he suspected the suitcase contained narcotics or illegal goods due to the large promised payment. Throughout the journey to Bali, all flight tickets, hotel bookings, and travel instructions were arranged by REA via WhatsApp and Signal. The defendant also stated to investigators that this was his first time working as a drug courier and his first time transporting narcotics abroad or into Indonesia.