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Aussie drug smugglers get death
14/02/2006 10:36 - (SA)
Bali - Two Australians were sentenced to death by firing squad on Tuesday for leading a drug smuggling ring on Indonesia's resort island.
The trials of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran had been closely watched in Australia, which opposed the death penalty and where stiff sentences for drug offences had in the past-sparked public outcry.
The pair was found guilty of leading seven other Australians in a foiled operation to smuggle eight kilograms of heroin from Bali to their homeland last April.
Some members of the "Bali Nine" were detained with heroin allegedly strapped to their bodies, others were purportedly plotting another shipment.
Verdicts expected soon
A three-judge panel at Denpasar district court found Sukumaran, 24, guilty of heading the group and sentenced him to death.
Earlier on Tuesday in a separate trial, Chan, 22, was also told he would go before a firing squad.
Drug mules Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephens, Renae Lawrence, Scott Rush, were sentenced to life in prison on Monday and Tuesday. The verdicts for the remaining members of the group were expected later this week.
The trials are the latest of several drug cases involving Australians in Indonesia.
Last year, Australian lingerie model Michelle Leslie, 24, was sentenced to three months in jail for using drugs. Former beautician Schapelle Corby, 28, was sentenced to 20 years for smuggling marijuana onto the island.
- AP
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