Senegalese drug dealer sentenced to death

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta

The South Jakarta District Court sentenced on Wednesday Senegalese Sech Osmane to death for illegally possessing and trafficking 2.4 kilograms of heroin. The court also fined the defendant Rp 100 million (US$11,173).

The verdict was similar to the demand sought by prosecutor Suntoro.

Upon hearing the verdict, Osmane, clad in a white-and-blue- striped polo shirt, talked to his lawyers through an interpreter before announcing he would appeal.

Presiding judge Roky Panjaitan read out his verdict that witness testimonies and evidence presented to the court were sufficient to find the defendant guilty of violating Article 82 of Law No. 22/1997 on narcotics, which carries a maximum punishment of death.

The witnesses included Tebet Police officers, who arrested the defendant last October at an apartment in Cilandak, South Jakarta, following a tip-off from local residents, and Osmane's girlfriend, Hela Habiba. Habiba later testified that Osmane frequently received drug buyers at his apartment.

The police presented 25 packages of white powder, which they had found hidden in the refrigerator, and Rp 400,000 in cash as evidence. A police forensic laboratory test confirmed that the powder was heroin.

"The court decided to hand down the maximum penalty because the defendant's crimes were destructive toward society," Roky said, adding that such crimes contributed to the increase of drug addicts and drug-related crimes in the country.

National Narcotics Agency (BNN) data show there are some six million drug addicts in the country.

The judges found no mitigating circumstances in the case.

The defense team previously pleaded for a lighter sentence, considering that Osmane had been cooperative during the trial and had admitted to his crime.

The judges rejected the defense plea that Osmane was only a fall-guy for compatriot Makrus, who is still at large.