Medan, N Sumatra, Sept. 5 -- A North Sumatra court on Thursday sentenced 36-year-old M. Alfarisi to death for acting as a courier in the trafficking of nearly 4,833 ecstasy pills.

"We sentence the defendant, M. Alfarisi, to death," declared Presiding Judge Frans Effendi Manurung, accompanied by Judges Cipto Hosari Nababan and Vera Yetti Magdalena, at Medan District Court.

Alfarisi, a resident of Lhokseumawe, Aceh Province, was convicted of transporting Class I non-plant narcotics exceeding five grams - violating Article 114(2) of the Narcotics Law No. 35/2009 and Article 55(1) of the Criminal Code.

The judges cited aggravating factors, noting that Alfarisi's actions undermined state efforts against drug trafficking, threatened public s...