It has been confirmed that the two young Portuguese men arrested in Indonesia for drug smuggling are from Madeira. They were found to be carrying two kilos of cocaine.
The arrests took place on Sunday. Drug trafficking, in Indonesia is punishable by death, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Portuguese is monitoring the situation and preparing to visit the two men who are now in prison in Jakarta. As they await trial, the Portuguese Government now has the task of asking the local authorities, and more specifically the President of Indonesia, for clemency.
The youths are believed to have taken the drugs from Lisbon via Dubai to Jakarta, where they were intercepted by the authorities. The addressee was also a young Madeiran man who was already in Indonesia.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
