Denpasar, Bali, Aug. 21 -- The Denpasar District Court sentenced Russian national Andrei Zharin, 40, to five years and eight months in prison on Thursday for attempting to smuggle cannabis paste disguised as face cream into Indonesia.

The panel of judges, chaired by Gde Putra Astawa, also fined Zharin 1 billion rupiah (USD63,000), with a subsidiary sentence of six months if unpaid.

"The judge declares that the defendant Andrei Zharin has been legally and convincingly proven guilty of committing the crime of illegally or unlawfully importing Class I narcotics," Astawa said.

The judge rejected the defendant's argument on the drugs to treat a medical condition since the evidence exceeded the recommended usage limit.

The judge considered ...