Bali District Court Sentences Russian To Nine Years In Jail

Denpasar (Antara Bali) - A panel of judges in Bali District in Court sentenced Alexey Prusov (28), a Russian citizen, to nine years in prison, with a fine of Rp2 billion and a subsidiary of four months in prison, after he was accused of possessing 106 grams of methamphetamine.

"The defendant has legally and convincingly proven to be against the law of importing narcotics class I exceeding 5 grams and violating Article 113 Paragraph 2 of Law Number 35 Year 2009 concerning narcotics," Chairman of the Panel of Judges Dr Yanto stated here on Tuesday.

The judge`s verdict was lighter than the demands of the public prosecutor Eddy Artha Wijaya who, in a previous hearing, demanded a sentence of 14 years in prison and a fine of Rp2 billion subsidiary with six months in prison.

The point which mitigated the punishment of the defendant was that he had acknowledged his actions, regretted his actions, and had never been punished earlier.

Upon hearing the verdict, the accused, through his lawyer, stated to be thinking on the judge`s decision. Likewise, the public prosecutor also claimed to think about it.

The indictment stated that the Customs and Excise Officer of Customs Type A Denpasar came to know about the drug after coming across a package of postal items on January 5, 2017, at 2:45 p.m. local time.

Officers conducted a search at the Renon Denpasar Post Office after a white envelope was addressed on behalf of Mache Kaisar to the Sunset Road post office, Denpasar, Bali.

When officers checked the contents of the envelope, they found a pack of clips that allegedly contained crystal methamphetamine narcotic. During examination, methamphetamine weighing 104.19 grams net was found.

On Jan 6, 2017, officers directly submitted the evidence to the Bali Police and directly conducted an investigation. The police then arrested the defendant.

The defendant confessed to the officer that the illicit drugs belonged to him. The officer immediately arrested Alexey.  (WDY)