Brit housewife held with £1.6m worth drugs in Bali – Faces death penalty

Report By: Nina Rai

Bali, 28 May, 2012:

A 56-year-old British housewife has been arrested in Bali for allegedly smuggling a whopping £1.6m worth of cocaine, which was found stashed inside her suit-case lining.

Lindsay June Sandiford is understood to have taken part in a 'controlled delivery' at an unidentified location on the paradise island. If convicted, the Brit lady faces the maximum penalty - death by firing squad.

As the alleged drug trafficker was brought before the media at a news conference in Kuta, a holiday town on the Indonesian island, the distressed lady tried to cover her face.

Sandiford was seen seated at a table in front of a massive pile of cocaine inside packages wrapped in brown tape. One of the customs officials then cut open the packages with a knife.

The middle-aged Brit housewife was attired in an orange inmate's T-shirt and was flanked by armed police officers and black masked customs' officials.

It was on May 19 that Sandiford was apprehended with the 4.7 kg haul in a suitcase as she arrived on a flight from Bangkok, informed Customs official Made Wijaya.

The mother-of-two justified her action by claiming: 'I carried the drugs because my children were threatened.' She is said to have then led the police to four other suspects, including a British couple.

The alleged intended recipients consist of three other Britons and an Indian national, who are now being questioned by Bali police. In fact at the news conference all five were paraded with the smuggled cocaine.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office acknowledged that they were aware of the arrest of their national in Bali. “We stand ready to provide consular assistance," informed the spokesman.

Authorities in Kuta also told the media, the group was part of a 'big international network' It may be noted that more than hundred and forty people are on death row after being convicted of drug offence in Indonesia, out of which a third are foreign nationals.

Source: Sky News/Daily Mail

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