Englishman tried for smuggling heroin

JAKARTA (JP): A British citizen appeared in the Central Jakarta District Court on Friday on charges of smuggling more than a kilogram of heroin.

AP, a 35-year-old photographer, from Consett, England, was arrested in July at the Pasar Baru Post Office, Central Jakarta, by a customs and excise officer when he collected a package containing 1.03 kilograms of heroin.

The package originated from Thailand and the sender is a man called Bobby Johnson, the prosecution said.

The defendant was accompanied by a defense lawyer and interpreter from the prosecutors' office.

Prosecutor Abdul Halim Tola reminded the defendant that if found guilty he faces a maximum ten years' imprisonment.

The court is adjourned until Dec. 13 to give the defendant's lawyer a chance to prepare his defense statement. (08)