Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - The district court of Pekanbaru, Riau has sentenced Malaysian Muhammad Adenan, who was also a port officer in Port Klang, to life imprisonment for smuggling methamphetamine into the country.

Chief judge Rosmin Lumbangaol said here on Tuesday evening that the defendant was proven guilty of trafficking and smuggling 1.5 kilogram of methamphetamine.

The defendant was also found guilty of conspiring with other defendants, Norman bin Erisman, Zulkifli, Dedy and Januar, when transporting the narcotics from Malaysia.

Additionally, the panel of judges fined the defendant Rp1 billion, or spend one year longer in prison if he fails to pay the fine.

The sentence was higher than what prosecutors requested, reaching a maximum 20 years in jail.

The other four defendants, who are Indonesian citizens, have also been sentenced to various prison terms.

Adenan and his accomplices were charged with violating Article 131 paragraph 1 and Article 114 paragraph 2 of Law Number 35 of 2009 on narcotics.

As has been previously reported, the defendant conspired to bring methamphetamine from Malaysia upon orders from Aheng, who remains at large.

Adenan was caught by a team from the National Police Headquarters and the Riau Police Command in the middle of 2011 in a star-rated hotel on Jalan Gatot Subroto in Pekanbaru.

The arrest occurred after police from the National Police Headquarters contacted Dedi Siswandi, who is still at large, pretending they would purchase 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine valued at Rp1 billion.

After the sale was made at the hotel, police then waited in room 302 and 303 as Dedi contacted Aheng, who was still in Malaysia, to send the methamphetamine to Pekanbaru by sea.

Ahen agreed and ordered Januar to deliver the drug, but Januar became fearful and asked Adenan to accompany him, according to officials.

Januar and Adenan then left Muar port in Malaysia aboard the MV Laksamana with the methamphetamine hidden in a can.

At the Bengkalis port Riau, the methamphetamine was handed over to Dedi Herawadi to be brought to Pekanbaru.

However, as Januar and Adenan were traveling to Pekanbaru to meet Norman, the brother of Dedi Siswandi, they were apprehended by police, who had long been monitoring them.
(Uu.H-YH/INE/KR-BSR/S012)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012