Ecstasy courier sentenced to 12 years in prison in Medan

Medan (ANTARA) - The panel of judges at the Medan District Court (PN) has sentenced defendant Rido Yogi Pratama, also known as Oop bin Yuliantoni, to 12 years in prison after he was proven to have acted as a courier for 9,450 ecstasy pills weighing 2.4 kilogrammes. “Adjudicating, the defendant Rido Yogi Pratama alias Oop bin Yuliantoni is sentenced to imprisonment for 12 years,” said the panel of judges chaired by Cipto Hosari Parsaoran Nababan at the Medan District Court on Friday. Cipto stated that in addition to the prison sentence, the defendant, a resident of Lampung Province, was also fined Rp300 million, with the provision that if the fine is not paid, it will be replaced by 100 days of imprisonment. The panel of judges declared that the defendant’s actions contradicted the government’s programme to eradicate narcotics. Meanwhile, mitigating factors included the defendant admitting his actions, behaving politely during the trial, and having no prior convictions. The defendant accepted the verdict. Meanwhile, the public prosecutor (JPU) from the Medan District Prosecutor’s Office stated they would take seven days to consider their position on the ruling. In the indictment, the prosecutor stated the case began on Friday, 14 November 2025, when the defendant received an offer from an individual with the initials Toba, who is on the wanted list (DPO), to pick up narcotics in Medan for a reward of Rp5 million to Rp7 million. The defendant then departed with a colleague from Lampung to Medan using a rented car. During the journey, the pair received several operational money transfers from Toba totalling approximately Rp4 million. Upon arriving in Medan on Monday, 17 November 2025, the defendant received a black bag containing 9,450 ecstasy pills in the Jalan Ring Road area, Medan Sunggal District. The bag was thrown from another vehicle by an unknown person. The defendant then contacted Toba because the contents of the package he received did not match the initial information provided. Afterwards, the defendant decided to return to Lampung.