Briton Lindsay Sandiford held in Bali over cocaine haul

[7zark7]

[size=+1]Briton Lindsay Sandiford held in Bali over cocaine haul[/size]
A British woman has been arrested for allegedly trafficking cocaine worth £1.6m into the Indonesian island of Bali, a customs official has said.

Lindsay Sandiford, 56, was stopped with the 4.7kg haul in a suitcase as she arrived on a flight from Bangkok in Thailand on 19 May, Made Wijaya said.

Three Britons and an Indian national were believed to be the intended recipients. They are being questioned.

Officials have not yet revealed where Ms Sandiford is from in Britain.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the arrest in Bali, and we stand ready to provide consular assistance."

Pictures from a press conference in the town of Kuta showed Ms Sandiford covering her face and surrounded by customs officials.

The images showed her at a table on which packages wrapped in brown tape were cut open with a knife.

Wearing an orange inmate's T-shirt, she was also photographed flanked by armed officers wearing black masks.


Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18231898

 

[poledriver]

'I did it for my children': mother of two, 55, faces Bali death penalty after cocaine

'I did it for my children': mother of two, 55, faces Bali death penalty after cocaine sting

Mrs Sandiford, who has been described as the "neighbour from hell" and a "party girl", is believed to have told police she only agreed to smuggle the drugs because her two sons, who are aged 22 and 24, were being threatened. Appearing at a press conference wearing a prison T-shirt, Mrs Sandiford was paraded in front of the haul of drugs.

Made Wijaya, a customs official, said: "After weighing, the total cocaine is 4.791kg. The drugs have an estimated street value of 23.9 billion Indonesian rupiah. "This is a big international network. The charge against them would carry the death penalty."

Mrs Sandiford is originally from Redcar in Teesside, but has lived in London and Cheltenham.
She gave birth to her first son, Lewis Michael, in 1988 and two years later had a second child, Eliot, who had learning difficulties. She married their father Nicholas in London in 1994, but the couple later split and she moved to Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.

One resident there described her as the "neighbour from hell" who would regularly host late-night parties.
But a family friend said he would never have expected her to become involved in drug smuggling.
"I was very shocked when I found out," the friend said.

"She was always a party girl but I didn't think she was capable of this."

http://www.smh.com.au/world/i-did-i...nalty-after-cocaine-sting-20120529-1zfvm.html

 

['medicine cabinet']

its interesting to see big coke busts in asia, being so far from south america it must fetch a really high price in bali. i know in aus its super expensive but sucks she will probably be killed for ten pounds of coke.

 

[poledriver]

Four Britons and one Indian national have been arrested for drug smuggling on the Indonesian island of Bali, police say.

Briton Lindsay June Sandiford, 56, was arrested on May 19 with almost five kilograms of cocaine after arriving at the airport in Denpasar on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok.

"We arrested the suspect after we found 4,791 grams of cocaine in her suitcase. She hid it in the lining of her suitcase," Denpasar airport customs chief I Made Wijaya told reporters.

"We conducted an X-ray scan on the luggage, found a suspicious substance in it and then examined it," he said.

The cocaine has a street value of more than 23 billion rupiah ($2.5 million) and Sandiford, who told officials she is a housewife, faces the death penalty for drug trafficking, Mr Wijaya said.

Four others connected to Sandiford were arrested in a sting operation, Bali police narcotics head Mulyadi told reporters.

"For over a week, we conducted a controlled drug delivery through the suspect, Sandiford, to uncover a drug ring," Mulyadi said.

"Four Britons, including Sandiford, and one Indian citizen were arrested," he said, without naming the other suspects.

The police monitored Sandiford for over a week as she stayed in a hotel in Ahmed, on the eastern part of the holiday island, on the orders of another British woman who was also later arrested, Mr Mulyadi said.

A British man who allegedly collected cocaine from Sandiford at the hotel was also arrested, with the substance in his car.

Police seized 3.36 grams of hashish from another British man, and 78 plastic satchels containing what police suspect are ecstasy pills from the Indian national before both were arrested, Mr Mulyadi said.

Indonesia enforces stiff penalties including life imprisonment and death for drug trafficking.

Two members of Australian's Bali nine, who were arrested in 2005, are on death row, while seven others face lengthy jail terms.

Schapelle Corby, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for smuggling 4.1 kilograms of marijuana in 2005, recently had her term slashed by five years after a clemency appeal to president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The 34-year-old is due to be released in September 2017.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-28/british-woman-arrested-over-bali-cocaine-bust/4038050

 

[poledriver]

British Woman Stands Trial for Cocaine Smuggling in Bali

Denpasar. The trial of a 56-year-old British woman accused of smuggling five kilograms of cocaine into Indonesia opened on Thursday but was adjourned as she was not accompanied by a lawyer.

Lindsay June Sandiford was arrested in May on arrival at Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai International Airport on the resort island of Bali after the drug was allegedly found in her bag.

She was expected to be indicted for multiple drug-related charges at the Denpasar District Court but presiding judge Amzer Simanjuntak adjourned proceedings after learning Sandiford did not have an attorney present.

The next hearing was fixed for Oct. 4.

Customs officials in May said the cocaine has a street value of more than Rp 23 billion ($2.4 million), an amount large enough to warrant a maximum sentence of death by firing squad.

Indonesia enforces stiff penalties including life imprisonment and death for drug trafficking.

Two members of an Australian drug smuggling gang known as the “Bali Nine,” who were arrested in 2005, are on death row, while seven others face lengthy jail terms.

Another Australian, Schapelle Corby, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for smuggling 4.1 kilograms of marijuana in 2005, recently had her term slashed by five years after a clemency appeal to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

With comments at -

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/british-woman-stands-trial-for-cocaine-smuggling-in-bali/546877

 

[cj]

wow she is so fucked. I honestly cant imagine being trapped in a south eastern Asia prison and not even having money for a lawyer. I thought most countries would provide there citizens a lawyer in the case of facing capital punishment in a foreign country.

 

[poledriver]

Customs officials in May said the cocaine has a street value of more than Rp 23 billion ($2.4 million), an amount large enough to warrant a maximum sentence of death by firing squad.

Yeah she sure is, either a very long jail sentence in the horrible Indo prison or death by firing squad.

 

[poledriver]

its interesting to see big coke busts in asia, being so far from south america it must fetch a really high price in bali. i know in aus its super expensive but sucks she will probably be killed for ten pounds of coke.

Yep everything is really expensive here in Aus, the coke may well have been coming to Aus, or some of it anyway.

 

[poledriver]

Two Britons could face death in Indonesia

AN Indonesian court has indicted two Britons on multiple charges involving an alleged cocaine drug ring on Bali, which could see them both face the death penalty.

Prosecutors told Bali's Denpasar district court that Lindsay June Sandiford in May smuggled 4.79 kilograms of cocaine in the lining of her suitcase and that Julian Anthony Pounder had willingly received the drugs.

Sandiford was arrested in May upon arrival at the resort island's airport from Bangkok after customs officials found the drugs.

Police then set up a sting and netted three more Britons and an Indian national.

"The defendant acted against Indonesian law in smuggling illegal drugs classified under category one into the country," prosecutor Lie Putra Setiawan told the Denpasar district court of Sandiford.

Indonesian law divides drugs into three categories, the first listing those considered most serious, including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines.

"This offence carries a maximum penalty of death," Setiawan told reporters after the session.

Sandiford, who also faces charges of possession and selling narcotics, covered her face with a piece of cloth as she passed dozens of reporters to enter the courtroom.

She appeared with only a translator, saying she had been given no access to a lawyer in prison, and requested more time to find one.

The panel of judges went ahead with the hearing, having postponed the trial last week for the same reason, but said they would appoint her an lawyer for the next session.

In a separate indictment by the same court, prosecutors said Pounder collected cocaine from Sandiford on the street near the airport before he was arrested in the police sting.

He was indicted on two charges, the most serious of which carries a maximum penalty of death.

"The defendant acted against the law by offering a service to sell or purchase, or by being an intermediary in a transaction, of illegal drugs classified under category one," prosecutor Ketut Sujaya told the court.

The drugs found in Sandiford's suitcase had an estimated street value of about $US2.5 million ($A2.46 million), customs officials have said.

The trials for the two Britons will resume next week.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/...-cocaine-charges/story-e6frea7u-1226488478339

 

[poledriver]

Indonesia seeks 15 years jail for UK woman

INDONESIAN prosecutors have recommended a 15-year prison term for a British grandmother accused of trafficking in cocaine on the resort island of Bali.

Lindsay June Sandiford, 56, was arrested at Denpasar airport in May with 4.79 kilograms of cocaine stashed in the lining of her suitcase.

She helped police net three Britons and an Indian in connection with the case.

Prosecutors recommended judges on Thursday to sentence her to 15 years after finding here "legitimately and convincingly guilty of committing a narcotics crime", prosecutor Lie Putra Setiawan told the Denpasar district court.

The same court jailed Briton Rachel Dougall on Thursday for 12 months for failing to report a crime.

On Wednesday the court sentenced Briton Paul Beales, 40, to four years for possession of 3.6 grams of hashish at his house, clearing him of more serious charges of drug trafficking and sale.

The fourth Briton, Julian Ponder, is on trial for trafficking and possession and his sentence recommendation is scheduled for January 3.

He was arrested when he allegedly picked up a gift-wrapped package from Sandiford in eastern Bali, a week after her arrest.

The sentence demand for Sandiford was lighter than the maximum penalty of death. Several convicts who have smuggled large amounts of narcotics have received the death penalty or a life sentence.

Prosecutors said they made a lenient recommendation because she had admitted her crime and behaved politely in court.

In the courtroom, a quiet bespectacled Sandiford shrouded her head with a blue beach sarong to avoid journalists trying to photograph her. She is expected to present her defence in the next trial session on January 3.

Indonesia has enforced stiff penalties for drug traffickers in recent years.

Two members of an Australian drug smuggling gang known as the "Bali Nine", who were arrested in 2005, are on death row while the seven others face lengthy jail terms.

Another Australian, Schapelle Corby, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for smuggling 4.1 kilograms of marijuana in 2005, recently had her term slashed by five years after a clemency appeal to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...ail-for-uk-woman/story-e6freuz9-1226541428345

 

[poledriver]

On Wednesday the court sentenced Briton Paul Beales, 40, to four years for possession of 3.6 grams of hashish at his house, clearing him of more serious charges of drug trafficking and sale.

4 yrs for under 4 grams of hash... Ouch.

 

[poledriver]

The same court jailed Briton Rachel Dougall on Thursday for 12 months for failing to report a crime.

Some more info on this case, as i'm not sure it was widely reported -

RACHEL DOUGALL: Ignored By Media?

Rachel Dougall attended court this week as day 1 of her Bali drug trial began. The world's media virtually ignored the event.

Prosecutor Putu Astawa told Denpasar district court: "In a police raid at the defendant's villa, police found a cigarette package containing 48.94 grammes of cocaine in her bag."

Tabloid Dream: She is an attractive 38 year old British woman accused of being part of a cocaine syndicate in Bali. Sentences range from several years, to death.

Her partner, 43 year old Julian Ponder is on trial along with Brits Lindsay Sandiford and Paul Beales.

Yet, Rachel Dougall, who apparently owns a property in Brighton England, and has been visited by her father, has remained very much out of the limelight with her initial court appearance going virtually unreported.

Not a single photographers lens captures this weeks event. There appear to be no published pictures of Dougall entering, seated or leaving court. We have several video clips of the others.

Rachel Dougall has a young daughter and the heartbreak was clear when she was transferred from police cell to a hospital, days after being torn from her life as a mother caring for Kitty age 6

http://www.drugjail.com/2012/10/rachel-dougall-ignored-by-media.html#.UNYgjqV8PHh

BREAKING NEWS: Rachel Dougall Sentenced To 1 Year By Bali Court

Rachel Dougall, the British mother facing a life sentence for being part of an alleged drug syndicate has been sentenced to 1 year in prison. Her charges were recently reduced to that of 'failing to report a crime' and the possession of cocaine. A quantity of cocaine was discovered in a cigarette packet during a raid on her rented villa.

Rachel Dougall: sentenced to 1 year in a run down Bali Prison

Outside the Denpasar District Court, Dougall's lawyer, Ari Soenardi, announced that as his client has already been in jail for eight months awaiting trial, he would ask for her to be released imminently.

Rachel Dougall's partner Julian Anthony Ponder is currently in Kerobokan jail awaiting trial.

He is accused of being involved in the trafficking of nearly 5kg of cocaine. He faces a life sentence. His trial has been delayed is is expected to resume in January 2013.

The sentencing will come as a relief for Dougall who broke down in May while being held at Denpasar police headquarters. Separated from her 6 year old daughter, she became depressed and was hospitalized.

There has been much press speculation regarding the true nature of Dougall's 'life of luxury' in Bali. Earlier in the year, reports suggested that Dougall and partner Julian Ponder lived a 'party lifestyle' but never did any work

Other reports have suggested that Dougall was instrumental in helping organize the drug deal in which Lindsay Sandiford was caught.

http://www.drugjail.com/2012/12/breaking-news-rachel-dougall-sentenced.html#.UNYkraV8PHh

 

[mattnotrik]

£1.4m for around 5kg of coke? £280,000 per kg? Love how they will try and say "thats its street value",,, yeah but thats not its actual value.

 

[Portillo]

The world is alot safer now that these criminals are behind bars.

 

[slimvictor]

I am happy that she only got one year.
The idea that she almost got life, and her family was destroyed, because she had a bit of a plant that she may have used to feel good/better, is sickening.

 

[poledriver]

^ She didn't have pot, or do you mean the cocaine? Which I guess is made from the cocoa plant or whatever, her partner still might get life or a very long stint in jail over there, she got charged with -

The same court jailed Briton Rachel Dougall on Thursday for 12 months for failing to report a crime.

Prosecutor Putu Astawa told Denpasar district court: "In a police raid at the defendant's villa, police found a cigarette package containing 48.94 grammes of cocaine in her bag."

She got off quite lightly for nearly 50 grams of cocaine over there. Considering the guy 'Paul Beales', 40, got four years for possession of 3.6 grams of hashish at his house.

Other reports have suggested that Dougall was instrumental in helping organize the drug deal in which Lindsay Sandiford was caught.

Looks like she might not spend much time with her partner for along time tho -

Rachel Dougall's partner Julian Anthony Ponder is currently in Kerobokan jail awaiting trial.

He is accused of being involved in the trafficking of nearly 5kg of cocaine. He faces a life sentence. His trial has been delayed is is expected to resume in January 2013.

The sentencing will come as a relief for Dougall who broke down in May while being held at Denpasar police headquarters. Separated from her 6 year old daughter, she became depressed and was hospitalized.

There has been much press speculation regarding the true nature of Dougall's 'life of luxury' in Bali. Earlier in the year, reports suggested that Dougall and partner Julian Ponder lived a 'party lifestyle' but never did any work

I'd say she got off VERY lightly considering all that I'm reading about the case, her partner busted with 5kg's of coke, their party lifestyle, no work, she must have known what was going on and probably been involved with it all too, I wouldn't dismiss the idea she somehow bribed her way out of more harsh sentence either, as they place is very corrupt and bribes are common in Bali.

- Unless i'm missing something that you read in the above articles.. There's a few cases now in this thread, I just kind of added them together as they are all Bali related and the first article (that i posted today) about the initial bust on Lindsay Sandiford mentioned them.