Friday, January 14, 2011

Emirates passenger arrested for drug trafficking

JAKARTA - A Frenchman could face the death penalty in Indonesia after customs officials found five kilograms of methamphetamine in his luggage at Jakarta's airport, an official said Thursday.

The 53-year-old man identified only as Gerard D. was arrested on Tuesday after landing on a Emirates Airways flight from Dubai with five kilograms (11 pounds) of the drug, estimated to have a street value of 7.6 billion rupiah (843,600 dollars).

"Our officers found a suspicious package when it went through an X-Ray machine," Soekarno-Hatta airport's customs spokesman Evy Suhartantyo told AFP, adding that the man hid the drug in a package inside the suitcase lining.

The spokesman said that following the man's arrest, police also arrested an Iranian man and an Indonesian woman in West Jakarta who were expected to receive the package.

Indonesia enforces stiff penalties, including life imprisonment and the death sentence, for drug trafficking convictions.

The alleged trafficker was being detained in police custody.

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