Bali court jails foreigners for cocaine smuggling

A district court in Bali sentenced several foreign nationals to prison on Thursday for smuggling cocaine into Indonesia — a country known for its tough anti-drug laws.

Three British nationals — Jonathan Collyer, 28, Lisa Stocker, 29, and Phineas Float, 31 — were each handed one-year jail terms after judges dropped more serious charges that could have carried the death penalty. The trio were arrested in February after authorities found nearly 1 kilogram of cocaine hidden in dessert mix sachets. They’ll be eligible for release in seven months due to time already served.

In separate cases, 46-year-old Argentine Eleonora Gracia received a seven-year sentence for bringing in 244 grams of cocaine, while British citizen Elliot Shaw, 50, got five years and a hefty fine.

On July 13, Indonesian customs arrested two more suspects: a Brazilian man carrying over 3 kilograms of cocaine and a South African woman who allegedly hid nearly a kilo in her underwear.

Indonesia maintains some of the harshest drug laws globally, with over 500 people — including nearly 100 foreigners — currently on death row. While the country has upheld a moratorium on executions since 2017, drug offenses remain heavily punished.