When it comes to overseas gambling, nothing is more dangerous to Aussie tourists than international drug smuggling. Last year 1032 prisoners got the death penalty in 23 countries around the world. Many of these executions were carried out by militant groups in Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia & Iraq. These areas are quite dangerous for Westerners, but a majority of 2016’s executions news come from Asia. The causes for these killings are shocking since they are targeting people who aren’t notorious criminals.
Thanks to the war on drugs, a surprising amount of drug execution was done over seemingly harmless crimes. Many would assume that the prime cause of executions would be terrorism or murder, but drugs smuggling stole the show. Several countries have draconian approaches to drugs, even going as far as killing suspected traffickers. China, Malaysia & Vietnam have become notorious for their harsh drug laws, which demand death for anyone caught trafficking.
To avoid falling into this trap, it’s essential to educate ourselves about the harsh realities of international executions. They don’t just target serial killers, many normal people get into these situations. Despite being nothing more than desperate travellers, these people face death for smuggling illegal substances. We decided to cover this topic to shed some light on the drastic changes between different countries’ drug laws. The cases these Aussies faces are outrageously lethal!
3 Aussie Tourists That Face Draconian Drug Executions
1. Aussie Tourist #1: Maria Exposto
A fake online romance forced this grandmother to face hanging from a noose. In December 2014, Maria was seduced by a U.S. serviceman online. Their banter online became more intense, & he persuaded her to fly to Shanghai. She jumped at the chance to meet him, & hopped on the plane. Unfortunately, the reality was different when she visit China. There was no serviceman, & Maria scrambled for a way to get back home.
Desperate for answers, a stranger approaches her. He promise to help get her back to Australia, in exchange for taking a bag full of clothes with her on the trip. Thinking nothing of it, Maria took the bag with her to the airport. Little did she know, the bag contained 1.1 kg of methamphetamine.
After passing the first security checkpoint, it swiftly intercepts during her connection in Malaysia. Now Maria faces death by hanging, which isn’t an empty threat since Malaysia has already executed multiple Australians for drug trafficking. She is currently appealing the case, but hopes for an acquittal remain low.
Aussie Tourist #2: Pham Trung Dung
This father of two found the financial struggle too daunting in Australia, so he turned to crime. Lacking options, he took an offer to smuggle 3.6 kg of heroin from Vietnam to Australia. They offered to pay him $40,000, which ended up being way too cheap to gamble his life. He ended up getting caught boarding a flight in Ho Chi Minh city, which was terrible news since Vietnam has extremely harsh drug laws. He now faces death by lethal injection, which will successfully tear this once-vibrant family apart.
3. Aussie Tourist #3: Bangali Sherrif & Ibrahim Jalloh
This pair was arrested at the Guangzhou airport in China. They were caught with relatively small amounts of methamphetamine. But they both face the death penalty by firing squad. The sheriff is fighting his sentence, & caught a surprise lucky break. He got his death sentence suspended, but prosecutors are fighting to get it reinstated. Jalloh has a learning disability, so he is fighting to get his case dismissed. Their legal cases are still pending, but either way, they will spend the rest of their lives in China.
