Aussie drug mule gets 8 years in Bali jail

An Australian man caught trying to smuggle hashish and methamphetamines into Bali hidden in his stomach has been sentenced to eight years in jail.

Edward Myatt, from Ballarat in Victoria, was stopped as he arrived at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport in February on a flight from India after he aroused the suspicions of Customs officers.

He was later found to have swallowed more than 70 plastic casings containing 1.1kg of hashish and four grams of methamphetamine, otherwise known as ice.

The 54-year-old drug mule had been facing the possibility of a death sentence under Indonesia's harsh narcotics laws.

The Bali prosecutor's office, which indicated earlier in the trial it would push for Myatt to face a firing squad, had requested a sentence of 15 years after receiving orders from the Indonesian Attorney-General's Department in Jakarta.

But a panel of judges in the Denpasar District Court on Monday instead sentenced Myatt to just eight years.

He was also fined 1.5 billion rupiah ($A155,000).

If he fails to pay the fine, Myatt will be required to serve an additional four months in jail.

It had been expected he would receive a similar sentence to Sydney man Michael Sacatides, who earlier this year was given 18 years in jail for attempting to smuggle 1.7kg of methamphetamine into Bali from Thailand.

However, the judges took into account Myatt's claim that he had been a long-term drug user but was willing to undergo rehabilitation.

See the rest here:
Aussie drug mule gets 8 years in Bali jail