Australian man was sentenced to 18 years in jail by an Indonesian court on Monday for smuggling drugs into the resort island of Bali.

20:43 Australian man was sentenced to 18 years in jail by an Indonesian court on Monday for smuggling drugs into the resort island of Bali. 0 Comments

Michael Sacatides, 43, was arrested in October as he passed through customs after landing on an AirAsia flight from Bangkok with 1.7 kilograms (3.7 pounds) of methamphetamine in his luggage at Bali International Airport.

"The defendant was proven guilty of drug smuggling and sentenced to 18 years," chief judge Sigit Sutanto told Denpasar district court.

"He never admitted that the drug belonged to him," the judge said referring to the reason why he was given two years higher than the prosecutors' recommendation of 16 years.

"He committed a crime which could harm our young generation and it's against the government's campaign to eliminate drug use," Sutanto added.




The boxing trainer from Sydney will join almost a dozen compatriots who are behind bars in Bali's Kerobokan jail on drug-related convictions.

Three Australians are currently on death row for a 2005 attempt to smuggle 8.3 kilogrammes of heroin into Australia from the tourist island.

Six other members of the so-called Bali Nine gang are serving long jail sentences.

Another Australian, Schapelle Corby, is serving a 20-year sentence in Bali for trafficking 4.1 kilograms of marijuana into Indonesia in 2005.