Ghanaian faces 20 years for smuggling heroin

JAKARTA (JP): A public prosecutor has demanded that a Ghanaian national be sentenced to 20 years in jail for trying to smuggle 600 grams of heroin into Indonesia last September.

Prosecutor Uri Hasan Basri told the Central Jakarta District Court on Monday that the 25-year-old defendant, identified only as Mus, violated Indonesian law No.9/1976 on narcotics.

The prosecutor said the defendant put some of the contraband into his shoes, and some into his suitcase.

The defendant brought the heroin from Bangkok and handed it to a local partner, identified as Ibrahim S. at Hotel Rolex in Jakarta. "They exchanged shoes before leaving for Pecenongan City Hotel for the transaction. Police officers arrested them before the transaction was made," the prosecutor said.

"He deserves to be punished harshly for the offense he committed," the prosecutor said, adding that narcotics are a serious threat to the younger generation.

The trial was adjourned until next Monday. (sur)