Two foreigners taken to court on drug charges
Two foreigners taken to court on drug charges
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
The separate trials of a 45-year-old Thai woman, charged with
smuggling heroin from Thailand, and a 28-year-old Nigerian man,
charged with dealing in drugs, began on Tuesday at Tangerang
District Court.
Prosecutor Martha P. Berliana said defendant Bunyong
Khaosa Ard, a food vendor in Bangkok, Thailand, arrived at
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Terminal D on April 7
after disembarking from Thai Airlines flight TG-433.
She said Customs and Excise officers became suspicious
when they saw the suspect looking nervous, confused and sweating
profusely.
She was discovered to have suspicious objects in her stomach
and was given special medicine, after which she vomited 45
capsules several hours later. A Narchotest examination later
confirmed the capsules were filled with 450 grams of heroin.
According to the prosecutor, Ard was taken to Lahore, Pakistan
on March 29 by a good-looking Thai woman called Tata, whom the
defendant had got to know because the woman frequently bought her
food and gave her extra money.
She said that in Lahore, Tata, who is still at large, asked
the defendant to swallow the 45 capsules in a hotel room and
then ordered her to fly to Bangkok. When they arrived in Bangkok
on April 6, Tata asked her to fly on with the capsules to a man
waiting at a hotel in Jakarta.
After being questioned, she led police officers to room 512 of
Hotel Ibis in Slipi, West Jakarta.
The officers then caught Nigerian Obina Nwajagu red-handed as
he received the drugs wrapped in plastic packets from Ard in the
hotel room.
Obina was also tried at a separate hearing on Tuesday at
the district court with the same prosecutor and panel of
judges, but different lawyers.
"I needed at least US$150 to send my 11-year-old son and 8-
year-old daughter to school. And Tata had promised to give me
US$500 when I returned to Bangkok from Jakarta," Ard told The
Jakarta Post.
Single-parent Ard claimed she had frequently heard about
heroin but did not know what it was.
"I work as a food vendor in Bangkok to support my children.
Tata often gave me money. If I had known it was against the law,
I wouldn't have taken it," she said.
During the session, she was accompanied by Zaim Affandi, a
Thai embassy official who acted as an interpreter and also lawyer
Alisati Siregar.
Meanwhile, Obina, who could not speak Indonesian was also
accompanied by an English interpreter and lawyer Horas Sirait.
Prosecutor Martha charged the two defendants with violating
Article 82 of Law No. 22/1997 on drugs. The article carries
a maximum punishment of death.
Both lawyers stated no objections to the prosecutor's
charges.
Presiding Judge Zainal Arifin adjourned the 2 p.m. hearing
until next Tuesday to hear witnesses' testimonies.
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
The separate trials of a 45-year-old Thai woman, charged with
smuggling heroin from Thailand, and a 28-year-old Nigerian man,
charged with dealing in drugs, began on Tuesday at Tangerang
District Court.
Prosecutor Martha P. Berliana said defendant Bunyong
Khaosa Ard, a food vendor in Bangkok, Thailand, arrived at
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Terminal D on April 7
after disembarking from Thai Airlines flight TG-433.
She said Customs and Excise officers became suspicious
when they saw the suspect looking nervous, confused and sweating
profusely.
She was discovered to have suspicious objects in her stomach
and was given special medicine, after which she vomited 45
capsules several hours later. A Narchotest examination later
confirmed the capsules were filled with 450 grams of heroin.
According to the prosecutor, Ard was taken to Lahore, Pakistan
on March 29 by a good-looking Thai woman called Tata, whom the
defendant had got to know because the woman frequently bought her
food and gave her extra money.
She said that in Lahore, Tata, who is still at large, asked
the defendant to swallow the 45 capsules in a hotel room and
then ordered her to fly to Bangkok. When they arrived in Bangkok
on April 6, Tata asked her to fly on with the capsules to a man
waiting at a hotel in Jakarta.
After being questioned, she led police officers to room 512 of
Hotel Ibis in Slipi, West Jakarta.
The officers then caught Nigerian Obina Nwajagu red-handed as
he received the drugs wrapped in plastic packets from Ard in the
hotel room.
Obina was also tried at a separate hearing on Tuesday at
the district court with the same prosecutor and panel of
judges, but different lawyers.
"I needed at least US$150 to send my 11-year-old son and 8-
year-old daughter to school. And Tata had promised to give me
US$500 when I returned to Bangkok from Jakarta," Ard told The
Jakarta Post.
Single-parent Ard claimed she had frequently heard about
heroin but did not know what it was.
"I work as a food vendor in Bangkok to support my children.
Tata often gave me money. If I had known it was against the law,
I wouldn't have taken it," she said.
During the session, she was accompanied by Zaim Affandi, a
Thai embassy official who acted as an interpreter and also lawyer
Alisati Siregar.
Meanwhile, Obina, who could not speak Indonesian was also
accompanied by an English interpreter and lawyer Horas Sirait.
Prosecutor Martha charged the two defendants with violating
Article 82 of Law No. 22/1997 on drugs. The article carries
a maximum punishment of death.
Both lawyers stated no objections to the prosecutor's
charges.
Presiding Judge Zainal Arifin adjourned the 2 p.m. hearing
until next Tuesday to hear witnesses' testimonies.