Indonesia seeks 15-year term for Australian found with 1.7 gram of marijuana in his suitcase

Australian faces 15-year term in Bali drug case

BALI, Indonesia — Indonesian prosecutors have charged an Australian man with drug smuggling and are seeking a 15-year prison sentence after a small amount of marijuana was found in his luggage as he arrived on the resort island of Bali.

Customs officials say 48-year-old Robert Paul McJannett of Perth had 1.7 grams of cannabis hidden in socks inside his suitcase when he arrived at Bali’s Denpasar airport in December.

Prosecutor Nyoman Sucitrawan told reporters Wednesday that McJannett has been charged under Indonesia’s strict narcotics law, but that officials will not seek the death penalty because the amount of marijuana found was relatively small.

McJannett’s lawyer says his client has admitted to the charges but argues that the drugs were for medical purposes.