DENPASAR, DEWATA.NEWS – A Brazilian national arrested at the International Arrivals Terminal of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport for alleged drug smuggling has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, exceeding the prosecutor’s earlier demand.
The defendant, identified as Yuri Bezerra Da Costa, received the verdict on Thursday (Feb 12) from a panel of judges at the Denpasar District Court chaired by Made Okti Mandiani.
Previously, public prosecutor Ni Luh Wayan Adhi Antari had sought a 16-year prison sentence. However, the judges imposed a heavier penalty while maintaining agreement on the legal provisions used in the indictment.
The court declared that the defendant was legally and convincingly proven guilty of unlawfully producing, importing, exporting, or distributing Category I narcotics exceeding statutory weight limits.
He was convicted under Article 610 Paragraph (2) letter a of Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 1 of 2026 concerning Criminal Code Adjustments, as outlined in the prosecutor’s primary alternative charge.
During earlier proceedings, the prosecutor also demanded a fine of IDR 2 billion, subsidiary to six months’ imprisonment.
Evidence presented in court included white powder identified as cocaine weighing 1,654.09 grams gross (1,564.92 grams net) and another package wrapped in black and transparent plastic containing cocaine weighing 1,611.2 grams gross (1,524.44 grams net).
In total, authorities seized 3,256.37 grams gross (3,089.36 grams net) of cocaine allegedly carried by the defendant through Ngurah Rai International Airport.
The case highlights Indonesia’s strict narcotics laws, particularly for trafficking and large-quantity importation offenses, which carry severe prison sentences.