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Teen facing death by firing squad in Bali after illegal act

A teenage girl is facing the death penalty after claiming she was tricked into smuggling drugs into Indonesia in her luggage.

Brazilian national Manuela Vitoria de Araujo Farias, 19, was caught with three kilos of the drug as she flew into the island of Bali.

Under Indonesia's tough anti-drug laws, she could face execution by firing squad if she is convicted of trafficking.

Manuela Vitoria de Araujo Farias, 19, poses in an undated photo.
Manuela Vitoria de Araujo Farias, 19, was indicted for drug trafficking on the island of Bali. Source: Newsflash/Australscope

Her lawyer Davi Lira da Silva claims she was tricked into cooperating after the gang who hired her told her of temples on the island where they pray for the sick.

Farias' mother had recently suffered a stroke and, her lawyers say, she was going to seek Buddhist prayers for a cure.

"They said that she could pray in the temples to ask for her mother's healing," the lawyer said.

Manuela Vitoria de Araujo Farias, 19, poses with a woman and a police officer in an undated photo. Manuela was indicted for drug trafficking on the island of Bali, Indonesia, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. (Bali Police/Newsflash)
Manuela Vitoria de Araujo Farias, 19, poses with a woman and a police officer in an undated photo. Manuela was indicted for drug trafficking on the island of Bali, Indonesia, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. (Bali Police/Newsflash)

Despite the international publicity, her mother, who is seriously ill in Greater Florianopolis, has apparently not been told that her daughter has been arrested.

Police in Santa Catarina in Brazil have refused to discuss the status of the investigation into the alleged criminals that gave the teenage girl the drugs.

She was arrested in Indonesia at Bali International Airport with three kilos of cocaine in her luggage after passing through airports in Brazil and Qatar.

Aussie man avoids death penalty after drug smuggling

A Perth surfing and diving instructor who was caught bringing heroin into Bali narrowly avoided the death penalty to instead be sentenced to eight months in a rehabilitation facility.

Jeffrey Walton, 52, was arrested in September with eight grams of heroin and 0.34 grams of methamphetamine in his possession, however the judge accepted he was a drug addict rather than a trafficker, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The sentence was handed down in court on January 17.

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