British man faces verdict over Bali cocaine ring

A British man accused of involvement in a drugs trafficking ring on the Indonesian resort island of Bali faces a verdict and sentence on cocaine possession charges on Tuesday.

Julian Ponder, 43, is linked with Lindsay Sandiford, a British grandmother who was condemned to death last week for her part in what authorities described as a “huge international syndicate”.

Ponder was arrested after receiving a package from Sandiford in a police sting operation mounted after she was caught with five kilos (11 pounds) of cocaine hidden in her suitcase on a flight from Bangkok to Bali in May.

He was initially also accused of trafficking over the US$2.4 million drugs haul, but earlier this month prosecutors dropped the smuggling charge, a serious offence punishable by death in Indonesia.

Ponder, from Brighton in England, now only faces a charge over possession of 23.04 grams of cocaine found in the bedroom of his luxury Bali villa.

Under Indonesian law, penalty for possession ranges from at least five years in prison to life sentence.