14 DAY TRIAL // A man who is believed to be a drug mule is in critical condition in an Indonesian hospital after allegedly swallowing dozens of capsules filled with heroin. Apparently, the man was involved in a drug smuggling ring and turned to this extreme measure of swallowing the heroin pellets in an attempt to elude the law.
The unnamed man, thought to be a Pakistani citizen, is currently being treated in the intensive care unit at Patar Asih hospital in the Deliserdang district of north Sumatra.
According to doctors, so far the man has passed at least 18 capsules of heroin, but many more may still be inside his body. The X-ray scan shows his lower intestine still contains wraps of drugs, measuring 3cm by 1.5cm (1.18 by 0.59 inches).
The medical staff at the hospital have administered soapy water to the man in an attempt to take the heroin capsules out of his body and clean his digestive system.
The man was brought to the hospital by Kuala Namu International Airport officials on Friday, and he has been unconscious for five days. His current condition is critical, the doctors say.
In this moment, he is still unconscious and he is connected to breathing apparatus. Local drugs officers will interrogate him when and if he recovers.
In the illegal drug trade business, drug lords often employ mules to reduce the risk of getting caught themselves. They ask the drug mules to smuggle narcotics across a national border, using their gastrointestinal tract as containers, just like in this case.
It is well known that Indonesia has very severe penalties for criminals who smuggle drugs. The country's laws punish illicit drug trade with the death penalty, or at least a decades-long imprisonment.
According to Daily Mail, last year, a 56-year-old grandmother from Britain was given the death sentence for smuggling 10 pounds (4,53 kg) of cocaine worth $2.5 million (€1.81 million) in her suitcase. Another example is that of a British former police community support officer, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison and ordered to pay a $166,850 (€121,400) fine after illegally introducing $5,000 (€3,640) worth of crystal meth into the country.
Despite the harsh penalties, drug use and drug trafficking seem to have increased in Indonesia. Moreover, the country is no longer just a transit area for illicit drugs sent to Australia, China, or Japan, as it has also become a destination country.