A BRITISH drug mule, accused of smuggling 244 grams of cocaine into Bali, begged for leniency by telling a court: “I am just depressed right now.”
An Indonesian court heard that Elliot James Shaw should be thrown into Bali’s hellhole prison for six years for trafficking eight tablespoons of cocaine – equivalent to the weight of an iPhone – into the holiday island.
APBritish man Elliot James Shaw and Argentine national Eleonora Gracia arriving in court on July 10[/caption]
APShaw admitted he smuggled the drugs into Bali[/caption]
SuppliedThe Brit begged for leniency by telling a court he is ‘depressed’[/caption]
Shaw, 50, of Watford, admitted that he smuggled the drugs into the Indonesian town where he claims to have worked for the past eight years.
“I am just depressed right now. I am weak. I ask for leniency. I am very, very sorry,” he told the court on Thursday.
Indonesian prosecutor Made Dipa Umbara asked Judge Tenny Erna Suryanthi to hand Shaw a six-year custodial sentence and his co-accused and lover Ellionora Gracia, a 46-year-old Argentinian, go to prison for nine years.
Shaw isn’t the first Brit to find themselves in hot water overseas over alleged drug trafficking.
Just last month, a court in Bali heard harrowing claims from mum-of-three Lisa Stocker, 39, who insisted: “I was framed.”
She, her partner Jon Collyer, and friend Phineas Float were accused of trying to smuggle nearly a kilo of cocaine into Indonesia disguised as packets of Angel Delight worth an estimated £300,000.
All three could face the death penalty if convicted.
The court was told Stocker and Collyer had previously travelled to Bali with similar “packages” and that police had caught Float accepting them in a sting operation.
Meanwhile, across the globe in Georgia, Bella May Culley is battling to avoid a 20-year jail sentence while pregnant.
The 19-year-old from Billingham, County Durham, denies knowingly smuggling cannabis and hashish from Thailand.
She says she was coerced by a brutal trafficking gang who allegedly burned her with an iron and threatened her family with beheading.
Bella claims she was duped into transporting the drugs by the Thailand-based gang – but prosecutors argue CCTV footage shows her calmly passing through Bangkok airport’s gates without raising the alarm.
In Sri Lanka, Charlotte May Lee is behind bars after allegedly attempting to smuggle £1.2million worth of synthetic kush, a highly potent cannabis variant.
The 21-year-old former air stewardess from South London, was reportedly caught with 46kg of the substance packed into her suitcases.
If convicted, she could be handed a 25-year prison sentence in a country known for its tough anti-drug stance.
The cases don’t stop there. Glamorous 21-year-old Cameron Bradford, from Hertfordshire, was detained at Munich Airport in April after allegedly flying in from Thailand with cannabis in her luggage.
EPAThree Brits including mum Lisa Stocker could face death by firing squad if found guilty of drug smuggling in Bali[/caption]
FacebookBella May Culley was arrested on drug offences in Georgia[/caption]
Sri Lanka PolicePart-time beautician Charlotte was arrested on May 12 after stepping off a flight to Sri Lanka from Thailand[/caption]
And a British couple claiming to be holidaymakers were busted in Valencia, Spain, after allegedly arriving with 33kg of cannabis hidden in their bags.
Police said they were flagged for their “nervous and evasive attitude” and are now in jail facing serious trafficking charges.
Perhaps most shocking of all – a six-year-old British boy was arrested in Mauritius as part of a group caught with a £1.6million cannabis haul.
Authorities say the drugs were hidden inside the child’s wheelie suitcase.
The youngster was travelling with his mother and five other Brits when customs made the disturbing discovery.
Officials slammed the alleged use of a minor in the plot as “inhumane”.
SolarpixA Brit couple coming from Thailand was arrested with 33kgs of cannabis[/caption]