The guilty verdict was read out by a judiciary panel, headed by chief judge Jhonson Sirait, during a virtual trial.
The three convicts were drug couriers, who had attempted to smuggle 118 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine into the Bintan Utara area of Bintan District, Riau Islands Province.
The trio, the residents of Bintan Island, were apprehended by the local police during a drug raid operation on August 30, 2019.
On April 16, the Palembang District Court had also handed death sentence to two drug couriers and sentenced one other person to life imprisonment for the trafficking of drugs.
During a virtual trial, Uzama alias Saka (46), Andi Eka Putra (35), Yuswandi (40) were pronounced guilty of trafficking 23 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and 1,940 ecstasy pills in the city. Meanwhile, Uzama and Andi Eka Putra received a death sentence, while Yuswandi was handed a life sentence.
Indonesia remains under grave threat from drug dealers, with several members of its working-age population trapped in a vicious cycle of drug abuse.
According to a report from the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), some 50 drug use-related deaths occur daily in Indonesia. However, the deaths have failed to deter other drug users in the country.
Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other addictive drugs transcend communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
Indonesia is perceived by both domestic and transnational drug dealers as a potential market due to its huge population and millions of drug users. Drug trade in the country is estimated at nearly Rp66 trillion.
In the face of the grave threat posed by drug lords, on December 5, 2019, BNN Chief Commissioner General Heru Winarko had held discussions with Security Minister Mahfud MD on matters pertaining to Indonesia's war on drugs, including the need to execute death row convicts.
"Capital punishment is part of the laws that should be imposed," Winarko had stated following his meeting with the coordinating minister for political, legal, and security affairs. Related news: Central Jakarta Police seize 11-kg crystal meth, 30,000 ecstasy pills
Related news: Jambi BNN arrests four, confiscates 4.9-kg meth, 1,400 ecstasy pills
Related news: Indonesia's narcotics agency seizes two million pills in West Java
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Translator: Ogen, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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