Australian charged with more drugs offences

[Shithappens]

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AN Australian man charged with drug trafficking in Singapore has also been charged with possessing utensils for taking drugs, court documents show.

 

Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau has brought a total of nine charges against Michael Karras, 38, according to court documents filed yesterday.

 

The bureau said at the time of Karras's arrest on January 9 that he had been found with 495g of cannabis, just short of the 500g level for which Singapore has a mandatory death sentence.

 

According to court documents, Karras was charged with possession of 189.06g of cannabis and 248.38g of cannabis mixtures “for the purpose of trafficking”.

 

He was also charged with possessing utensils used for taking drugs including tubes, pipes and a rolled-up note stained with ketamine.

 

Karras faces a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane for the trafficking charges.

 

Singapore has some of the toughest anti-drug laws in the world.

 

Australian man Van Tuong Nguyen was hanged there in 2005, after his conviction on trafficking in heroin, despite pleas for his life from Australian Prime Minister John Howard and international human rights groups.

 

Nguyen was caught three years earlier at Changi Airport carrying nearly 400g of the drug while in transit from Cambodia to his home in Melbourne.

 

Last week, the city-state hanged two Africans for drug trafficking.

 

Poor bastard I would hate to be him !!!

Edited February 10, 2007 by Shithappens