Latest news with #PhineasAmbroseFloat
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
British nationals jailed in Indonesia for drug offences
Judges in Indonesia have sentenced a group of three British nationals to one year in jail for drug offences after a charge that could carry the death penalty was dropped. Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 28, and his partner Lisa Ellen Stocker, 29, were arrested on February 1 after customs officers found 993 grammes (2.2 pounds) of cocaine worth an estimated six billion rupiah (£271,731). The drugs were hidden among sachets of powdered dessert mix. Two days later, authorities arrested Phineas Ambrose Float, 31, after a delivery of the drugs arranged by police. During their June trial, defence lawyers argued their clients were unaware the food given to them in England contained cocaine. On Thursday, the three-judge panel in Denpasar District Court handed down one-year prison terms for each defendant minus time served, making them eligible for release in seven months. Separately, an Argentine woman was sentenced to seven years and a British man received a five-year sentence with a fine of one billion rupiah (£45,322) on charges of smuggling cocaine to Bali. Eleonora Gracia, 46, was arrested in March at Bali's airport with 244 grammes (0.5 pounds) of cocaine. Authorities alleged she handed over the cocaine to Elliot James Shaw, 50, during a police sting operation at a Bali hotel. The sentences were considered lenient as Indonesia typically hands out severe punishments for drug smuggling, including the death penalty. Indonesian authorities also said they recently arrested a Brazilian man and a South African woman accused of smuggling cocaine. The 25-year-old Brazilian man, identified by the initials YB, was arrested on July 13 shortly after arriving from Dubai and charged with carrying 3,086 grammes (6.8 pounds) of cocaine in his suitcase and backpack at Bali's Ngurah Rai international airport, said Made Sinar Subawa, head of the Eradication Division at Bali's Narcotic Agency. The same day, customs officers seized 990 grammes (2.1 pounds) of cocaine they say was being carried in the underwear of a 32-year-old South African woman, identified as LN, it was said. About 530 people are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, including 96 foreigners, according to Ministry of Immigration and Corrections data. Indonesia's last executions of a citizen and three foreigners were carried out in July 2016. The country has upheld a moratorium on execution since 2017. President Prabowo Subianto has moved to repatriate several high-profile foreign inmates, all sentenced to death or life in prison for drug offenses, back to their home countries since he took office in October. A British woman, Lindsay Sandiford, now 69, has been on death row in Indonesia for more than a decade. She was arrested in 2012 with 3.8 kilograms (8.4 pounds) of cocaine in her luggage. Serge Atlaoui, an ailing Frenchman, returned to France in February after Jakarta and Paris agreed to repatriate him on 'humanitarian grounds'. Indonesia took Mary Jane Veloso off death row and returned her to the Philippines in December. In the same month, the government sent to Australia the five remaining members of a drug ring known as the 'Bali Nine'.
The Star
24-06-2025
- The Star
Three Brits face one year in prison over Bali drug charges
British nationals (left-right) Phineas Ambrose Float, Jonathan Christopher Collyer and Lisa Ellen Stocker are brought to court for their trial in Denpasar, Bali on June 3, 2025. - Photo: AFP DENPASAR, (Indonesia): Indonesian prosecutors said Tuesday (June 24) they were seeking one-year prison sentences for three British nationals accused of drug offences on the resort island of Bali, a major reprieve in a country with some of the world's toughest drug laws. Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 38, and Lisa Ellen Stocker, 39, were arrested on February 1 after being stopped at Bali's international airport with 17 packages of cocaine that weighed nearly a kilogram, according to public court records. They appeared in court alongside Phineas Ambrose Float, 31, who was allegedly due to receive the packages and was arrested a few days later in February. "(Demanding the court) to sentence the defendants to one year in prison and to keep them in detention," prosecutor Made Dipa Umbara told the district court in Bali's capital Denpasar. Umbara said that while the defendants were accused of breaking the law, they behaved well in court, acknowledged their wrongdoings, and pledged not to repeat their mistakes. The British Foreign Office said it was in touch with local authorities about the case. "We are providing consular support to three British Nationals detained in Indonesia," a spokesperson told AFP. The sentence call came as a surprise as Indonesia typically hands out severe punishments for drug smuggling, including the death penalty, and has previously executed foreigners for doing so. However the country has upheld a moratorium on the death sentence since 2017. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's administration has moved in recent months to repatriate several high-profile foreign inmates, all sentenced for drug offences, back to their home countries. Frenchman Serge Atlaoui returned to France in February after Jakarta and Paris agreed on a deal to repatriate him on "humanitarian grounds" because he was ill. In December, Indonesia took Mary Jane Veloso off of death row and returned her to the Philippines. It also sent the five remaining members of the "Bali Nine" drug ring, who were serving heavy prison sentences, back to Australia. According to Indonesia's Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, 96 foreigners were on death row, all on drug charges, before Veloso's release. - AFP
Wales Online
11-06-2025
- Wales Online
British trio facing death penalty over Angel Delight cocaine plot
British trio facing death penalty over Angel Delight cocaine plot The three face the death penalty for 'smuggling cocaine in sachets of Angel Delight' into Indonesia Phineas Ambrose Float, Jonathan Christopher Collyer and Lisa Ellen Stocker (Image: AFP via Getty Images ) Three British people are facing the death penalty after being accused of smuggling nearly a kilogram of cocaine into Indonesia in Angel Delight sachets. Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 38, and Lisa Ellen Stocker, 39, were stopped and arrested by officials at an X-ray machine at customs in Bali on February 1. The X-ray machine had highlighted suspicious items in their luggage disguised as food packages, said prosecutor I Made Dipa Umbara. The alleged drug smugglers came into court wearing the bright red waistcoats defendants are forced to wear during trials in Indonesia. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here The District Court in Denpasar heard that lab tests revealed that 10 sachets of Angel Delight powdered dessert mix in Collyer's luggage combined with seven similar sachets in his partner's suitcase contained 993.56 grams of cocaine, worth an estimated six billion rupiah (£272,000), The Mirror reports. Phineas Ambrose Float, 31, was arrested after a controlled operation which saw the other two suspects hand the drug to him in a hotel car park in Denpasar, the court was told. He is being tried separately. As he was led into court to face the drug charges against him, Float told journalists to "f*** off". He was brought to Denpasar Central Court in Bali in a prison van, wearing a white shirt and red prison vest with his wrists in shackles. Article continues below He hurled abuse at the gathered media as he was taken to a holding cell but was then seen in court smiling at Collyer. The drugs were flown into Indonesia from England via Doha international airport in Qatar, Mr Umbara told the court. The group had got past Indonesian authorities twice before, but were caught on this third attempt, Ponco Indriyo, the deputy director of the Bali Police Narcotics Unit said. The charges against the three were read out in court before a panel of three judges adjourned the trial until June 10 when the court will hear witness testimony. Float was previously jailed in the UK for armed robbery and drug dealing. In 2012, Float - then aged 19 - was sentenced to a year in jail after being caught with mephedrone hidden in his sock. He had been trying to get into the Sugar Mill nightclub in Hull city centre when security at the door stopped and searched him. He had hidden 35 bags of the Class B drug, better known as M-Cat or Meow Meow, in his sock, which had a street value said to be £216. He also had £105 in cash on him. Float, who was of no fixed address at the time, later pleaded guilty at Hull Crown Court to possession with intent to supply a Class B controlled drug and failing to provide a sample on suspicion of taking a Class A drug. He was still on licence at the time having been released from prison halfway through a sentence for armed robbery, and was told to go back to jail to serve the remainder, along with 12 months for the drugs charges Around 530 people, including 96 foreigners, are reported to be on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related offences. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said Indonesia, which has some of the strictest drug laws in the world, is a drug smuggling centre. International drug gangs are said to target the nation's young population. Those found guilty of drug smuggling face long jail terms or, in some cases, execution by firing squad. The last executions of an Indonesian and three foreigners were carried out in July, 2016. British woman Lindsay Sandiford was arrested in Indonesia in 2012 when 3.8 kilograms of cocaine was found inside the lining of her luggage at Bali's airport. Now aged 69, Sandiford has been on death row for more than a decade. Her death sentence was upheld by Indonesia's highest court in 2013. Article continues below The Mirror reported that Stocker had been transferred to Bali's Kerobokan jail - the same hell-hole jail where pensioner Sandiford has spent more than 12 years awaiting execution for smuggling cocaine. A source told the paper: "Stocker was moved to Kerobokan and placed in isolation as all new prisoners. Over recent weeks she has slowly been released into mainstream jail life and is due to be assigned a room. It means Sandiford has a new country person."
Daily Mirror
03-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Brit drug suspect facing Bali firing squad previously jailed for armed robbery
Phineas Ambrose Float, 31, stands accused of helping to smuggle nearly a kilo of cocaine into Bali disguised in Angel Delight packets, along with two fellow Brits. The Mirror can reveal he previously served time in prison for armed robbery and drug-dealing A Brit who faces the death penalty if he is convicted of helping to smuggle cocaine into Bali had previously been jailed in the UK for armed robbery and drug-dealing. Phineas Ambrose Float, 31, stands accused of drug-smuggling, along with fellow Brits Lisa Ellen Stocker, 29, and her boyfriend Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 28. The trio will be put on trial next week (June 10) in the Bali capital Denpasar, and if found guilty, could be sentenced to execution by firing squad. Back in 2012, Float - then aged 19 - was sentenced to 12 months behind bars after being caught with mephedrone hidden in his sock. He had been attempting to enter the Sugar Mill nightclub in Hull city centre when bouncers stopped him at the door and conducted a random search. Float had secreted 35 bags of the Class B drug, better known as M-Cat or Meow Meow, in his sock, which had a combined street value of £216. He also had £105 in cash on him. When he was arrested, he was heard telling cops: "It's only a bit of M-Cat." Float, who was of no fixed address at the time, refused to give a saliva sample for police to test for drugs, and later pleaded guilty at Hull Crown Court to possession with intent to supply a Class B controlled drug and failing to provide a sample on suspicion of taking a Class A drug. He was still on licence after being released from prison halfway through his sentence for armed robbery, and was told to go back to jail to serve the remainder, along with 12 months for the drugs charges. Float, who was still on licence after being released halfway through a sentence for armed robbery, was caught on September 15. Chief Inspector Dave Houchin of Humberside Police said at the time: "The sentencing of Float is a great result for Humberside Police and the people of Hull. "It shows we take offences such as this very seriously and will do all we can to bring offenders to justice." Float has been held in a Bali prison for the last four months, following his arrest in early February. His alleged accomplices, Stocker, from Gillingham in Kent, and Collyer were arrested together on Saturday, February 1. They had landed at Denpasar International Airport and were stopped at customs. Their bags were searched and officials claimed to have found suspicious items in their suitcases disguised as food packages. Lab tests found that 10 sachets of Angel Delight powdered dessert mix in Collyer's luggage, combined with seven similar sachets in Stocker's suitcase, contained 993.56 grams of cocaine - worth an estimated 6 billion rupiah - approximately £272,500. They had travelled from the UK, with a stopover in Doha, Qatar. Prosecutor I Made Dipa Umbara told the District Court in Denpasar at a pre-trial hearing that Float was arrested two days later at a controlled delivery set up by police, in which the other two suspects handed over the stash of Class A drug to him in the car park of a hotel in Denpasar. Ponco Indriyo, the Deputy Director of the Bali Police Narcotics Unit, alleged it was the third time the same trio have smuggled drugs into the country. Their first two occasions were successful, he claimed. Indonesian authorities crack down hard on suspected drug-smuggling, with at least 530 people - including 96 foreign nationals - currently on death row, mostly for drug-related crimes.
The Star
03-06-2025
- The Star
Bali drug trial of three Brits facing death penalty begins
Jonathan Christopher Collyer and Phineas Ambrose Float face the death penalty. - Antara DENPASAR, Bali: The trial of three British nationals accused of smuggling cocaine or taking part in a drug deal on Indonesia's popular island of Bali began Tuesday (June 3), with all facing the death penalty in a nation with some of the world's toughest narcotics laws. Indonesia hands out severe punishments for drug smuggling and has previously executed foreigners, but has upheld a moratorium on the death sentence since 2017. Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 38, and Lisa Ellen Stocker, 39, were arrested on Feb 1 after being stopped at Bali's international airport with 17 packages of cocaine that weighed nearly a kilogramme, according to public court records. They appeared in court alongside Phineas Ambrose Float, 31, who was allegedly due to receive the packages and arrested a few days later. The heaviest punishment for taking part in a drug transaction is also the death penalty under Indonesian law. An AFP journalist at the court said the hearing began Tuesday. A verdict was not expected until a later date. The British embassy in Jakarta did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's administration has moved in recent months to repatriate several high-profile inmates, all sentenced for drug offences, back to their home countries. Frenchman Serge Atlaoui returned to France in February after Jakarta and Paris agreed a deal to repatriate him on "humanitarian grounds" because he was ill. In December, Indonesia took Mary Jane Veloso off death row and returned her to the Philippines. It also sent the five remaining members of the "Bali Nine" drug ring, who were serving heavy prison sentences, back to Australia. According to Indonesia's Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, 96 foreigners were on death row, all on drug charges, before Veloso's release. - AFP
