South African sentenced to life for drugs

South African sentenced to life for drugs

Agencies, Denpasar, Bali

The Denpasar District Court sentenced a South African man to life imprisonment on Friday for smuggling heroin into Bali. John Gabrielle, 37, was found guilty of smuggling and trafficking heroin.

The verdict came only five days after Gabrielle's accomplice, Martin Christopher Akujobi, was also sentenced to life in prison.

"(The court) declares the defendant ... guilty of breaking the law by supplying Class 1 narcotics," presiding judge Linton Siregar told the Denpasar District Court, as quoted by Reuters news agency.

The sentence was lighter than that demanded by prosecutors, who had requested the death sentence.

Gabrielle and Akujobi were arrested in their hotel room in August last year, shortly after they arrived in Bali from Jakarta. They were arrested in their hotel room with 2.3 kilograms of pure heroin in their possession.

Responding to Friday's verdict, Gabrielle's lawyer, Christo Immanuel Dugis, said his client would appeal.

The same court is trying Australian drug suspect Schapelle Corby, 27, who on Wednesday begged the judges to set her free.

Prosecutors requested the week before that Corby be sentenced to life in prison for attempting to smuggle 4.1 kilograms of marijuana into Bali last year. The court is set to announce its verdict in two weeks.

Corby's trial is being closely watched in Australia. Last week's arrest of nine other Australians for attempting to transport nearly 11 kilograms of heroin out of Bali has brought Bali into the limelight and earned the island a reputation of being a drug hub for drug couriers.

The recent arrest and spat of court prosecutions indicate that security personnel are getting tougher on drug traffickers and users, especially in Bali.