Aussie Drug Case

[DBAHO]

There's been a big story round here for the past month or so about a 27 year old student who was caught in Indonesia with 4.1 kgs of Marijuana in her boogy - board bag. Pretty sad story, she's denying all of the charges and could be executed if she's found guilty. Now the twist in all of this is that a prison inmate has been flown from Melbourne and testified that she is telling the truth and that she was unwittingly carrying the drugs that were meant to be dropped off in Sydney for a Crime Gang;

 

PRISON inmates laughed as they told how accused drug trafficker Schapelle Corby unwittingly carried drugs for an Australian crime gang, a Bali court heard today.

 

But Victorian prisoner John Patrick Ford refused to reveal who put drugs in Ms Corby's luggage, citing fears for her life as well as for his own.

Mr Ford told a hushed court in Denpasar that he had overheard two fellow jail inmates talking in their prison cell about how a crime boss's shipment of marijuana had gone missing between Brisbane and Sydney last year.

 

The pair laughed as they told Mr Ford how Ms Corby had been an unwitting courier or "mule" used by a drug kingpin and former convict, he said.

 

"They found it very funny that (the) drugs had gone missing," Mr Ford told Denpasar District Court as Ms Corby listened intently beside defence lawyers.

 

"They were very specific about the amount of drugs and they were very specific about how they were taken.

 

"They were quite clear about how it was expected to go from Brisbane to Sydney."

 

Dressed neatly in a shirt and tie and black slacks, Mr Ford said the crime boss had a "significant financial investment" in the drug stash that ended up in Corby's bodyboard bag after flying from Brisbane and Sydney.

 

He declined to name the airport employee he believed planted the 4.1kg of marijuana in the unlocked case because of fears of reprisal or murder.

 

"I'm 100 per cent certain that if I mentioned this person's name in relation to these cases, when I go back to Australia I would be killed and very likely Ms Corby as well, just to prove a point," Mr Ford said.

 

"Schapelle Corby is a victim of domestic drug trafficking by what I regard as petty criminals and cowards."

 

He gave evidence as another Australian told Channel 9 that he discovered a large quantity of drugs in his bags in a Bali hotel room several years ago and was advised by the Australian consul to get rid of it immediately.

 

Mr Ford arrived handcuffed and in a police van ahead of Ms Corby, and showed little emotion as he was led to a holding cell by Indonesian and Australian prison officers.

 

In contrast, Ms Corby had to be helped through a media crush as she arrived for the final day of her defence case.

 

"Help me, please help she," she cried, prompting her sister Mercedes and police to grab her arm and drag her into the same holding cell.

 

Mr Ford's testimony may be Ms Corby's best hope of escaping a possible firing squad.

 

A former child support agency employee before his marriage breakup and subsequent arrest, Mr Ford told how he met the crime boss several times.

 

Mr Ford has been remanded in custody in Victoria for the past 14 months of charges including rape, burglary, threat to kill, and stalking.

 

Pressed by judges how he could be so sure Mr Corby was innocent given he had heard about the drug stash only secondhand, Mr Ford, 40, denied he had volunteered the information to get out of jail and "have a holiday" in Bali.

 

"In fact, I take great personal risk at this time of my identity being known and my face being recognised," he said.

 

"This is no fun. This puts me at so much risk I can't describe it."

 

Chief prosecution lawyer Wiswantanu said Mr Ford's testimony had "no legal value" because it was based on hearsay.

 

Ms Corby broke down again as she left the court and when asked if Mr Ford could be the turning point of her trail, said only: "I hope he told the truth."

 

She looked stressed as judges interrogated Mr Ford through the afternoon.

 

But her main financial backer, Gold Coast businessman Ron Bakir, said he was encouraged by Mr Ford's testimony.

 

"I think he did well. He was honest and it was from the heart," he said.

 

"I'm confident that justice has got to prevail."

 

The court was adjourned until April 7 when prosecutors will submit their request for a sentence.