DENPASAR, INDONESIA (AP) — An Argentine woman and a British man appeared in court Thursday on charges of smuggling cocaine into Bali, Indonesia. If convicted, the pair could each face up to 12 years in prison under the country’s strict anti-narcotics laws.
Prosecutors said Eleonora Gracia, 46, was arrested in March after arriving at Ngurah Rai International Airport with 244 grams of cocaine hidden in a condom inside her body. During a sting operation at a beachside hotel, she allegedly handed over the drugs to Elliot James Shaw, 50, a British national.
The suspects were formally charged at Denpasar District Court, the capital of Bali province. After prosecutors read the charges, the three-judge panel adjourned the trial until July 3, with a verdict expected next month.
Gracia and Shaw, wearing face masks, sat silently beside each other in the courtroom. Neither they nor their legal representatives made any statements to the court or to the press.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has identified Indonesia as a major hub for international drug trafficking, despite some of the toughest drug laws in the world. Authorities recently arrested 285 suspected traffickers, including seven foreigners, in a massive crackdown that yielded over half a ton of narcotics.
As of last month, 530 people were reported to be on death row in Indonesia, with 96 foreign nationals among them. The country’s last execution for drug offenses took place in July 2016.
