Padang District Court sentences drug trafficker of 50 kg to life imprisonment

Padang (ANTARA) - The Padang Class I A District Court in West Sumatra has sentenced the defendant, a methamphetamine trafficker with a total weight of 50 kilograms, Ari Asman, to life imprisonment.

“The defendant is declared proven guilty legally and convincingly, and a life sentence is imposed,” said Chief Justice Nasri while reading the verdict at the Padang District Court in Padang on Thursday.

In response to the verdict, the Public Prosecutor (JPU) and the defendant’s legal counsel expressed a reserved stance.

This stance is to determine whether each party will accept the decision handed down by the district court or file an appeal.

Head of the General Criminal Section at the Padang District Prosecutor’s Office, Raden Hairul Syukri, stated after the trial that his side still respects the panel of judges’ decision even though the verdict differs from the prosecutor’s demand.

Previously, the JPU team at the Padang District Prosecutor’s Office had demanded that the defendant Arisman be sentenced to death.

“We respect the panel of judges’ decision; this decision will be reported to the leadership, and we will study it to determine the next stance,” he said.

The defendant’s actions were charged under Article 114 paragraph (2), in conjunction with Article 132 paragraph (1), sub Article 112 paragraph (2), in conjunction with Article 132 paragraph (1) of Law No. 35 of 2009 on Narcotics.

The defendant, Ari Asman alias Badai, a male, is a resident of Padang, West Sumatra.

He was arrested by the West Sumatra Regional Police on 28 August 2025.

The perpetrator stored the methamphetamine in under the mattress, inside a small cupboard, and in a room in the house, with a total gross weight of 50 kilograms.

The case of circulating the prohibited goods that ensnared the defendant is linked to an international network because the methamphetamine he possessed originated from Malaysia.