Advertisement

Five foreigners - including one Brit - 'could face death penalty' after being held for drug smuggling in Indonesia

<em>Peruvian Jorge Albornoz Gamarra (centre) and German Frank Zeldler (right) sit next to evidence and Indonesian custom officers (AP)</em>
Peruvian Jorge Albornoz Gamarra (centre) and German Frank Zeldler (right) sit next to evidence and Indonesian custom officers (AP)

A Briton is among five foreigners who could face execution if they are convicted of smuggling drugs in Indonesia.

The group of five men have been held on the tourist island of Bali since the end of November and police now say they may be sentenced to the death penalty.

Police paraded the citizens of Britain, Peru, China, Malaysia and Germany at a news conference in Denpasar, the capital of Bali province.

<em>Indonesian custom officers show evidence as they stand next to Gamarra, during the press conference (AP)</em>
Indonesian custom officers show evidence as they stand next to Gamarra, during the press conference (AP)

The men were arrested in five separate operations by customs and police since November 30 in which 8.8lb of cocaine were seized as well as marijuana, ecstasy and ketamine.

Indonesia has strict drug laws and dozens of convicted smugglers are on death row.

MORE: Man ‘extracted’ from restaurant grease vent after being stuck inside for two days
MORE: What are the chances of a second referendum?

Its last executions were in July 2016 when an Indonesian and three foreigners were shot by a firing squad.

A police statement said the cocaine was smuggled by a Peruvian citizen in the lining of his suitcase and had a value of about 10.2 billion rupiah (£554,000).

<em>Gamarra (left) and Zeldler (right) are led away after the press conference in Bali, Indonesia (AP)</em>
Gamarra (left) and Zeldler (right) are led away after the press conference in Bali, Indonesia (AP)

A British man was arrested for allegedly receiving nearly 68lb of cannabis oil in the mail, and a German for allegedly trying to smuggle 5.7lb of hashish on a flight from Bangkok.

Police said the Chinese citizen was arrested with 200 ecstasy tablets and ketamine powder, and the Malaysian had small quantities of synthetic cannabis and ecstasy.

—Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK—