A former college basketball player could face the death penalty after he was arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle drugs into Indonesia.
Jarred Shaw, 34, played for Oklahoma State and Utah State before enjoying a brief stint in the NBA‘s minor G-League.
But, according to reports, Shaw was this week arrested in the Indonesian capital Jakarta after police intercepted a parcel – sent from Thailand – containing 132 pieces of cannabis ‘candies’.
‘An offense involving candies containing Delta 9 THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) implicating basketball athlete JDS (Jarred Dwayne Shaw) was handled by the Narcotics Unit of Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police,’ police chief Ronald FC Sipayung said.
According to USA Today, Sipayung added that, if found guilty, the Dallas-born Shaw could receive a life in prison or the death penalty. Local website Bola.com claims that Shaw is said to have admitted ordering the drugs from a friend and intended to distribute some to other basketball players in Indonesia.
Head of the airport police narcotics unit, Michael Tandayu, reportedly said Shaw would be charged ‘in connection with the alleged occurrence of criminal acts in terms of acts of offering for sale, selling, buying, acting as an intermediary in buying and selling, exchanging, handing over, or receiving narcotics.’
The charges are said to carry a minimum prison sentence of six years. Indonesia executed convicted drug offenders by firing squad as recently as 2016.
Shaw had been playing in Indonesia for the Tangerang Hawks but, according to the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL), Shaw’s ‘contract with the Hawks officially ended due to a violation of the contract article between the player and the club.’
‘We take this matter very seriously and deeply regret the violation of the law committed by Jarred Shaw,’ said Hawks manager Tikky Suwantikno.
Indonesian Basketball Association chairman Budisatrio Djiwandono added: ‘We do not tolerate drug use in basketball. Whether players, officials, court personnel or anyone involved with narcotics or similar substances… PERBASI fully entrusts this matter to law enforcement.’
Junas Miradiarsyah, CEO of the IBL added, via Indonesian outlet Independent Observer: ‘IBL together with PERBASI will enforce a blacklist, banning violators from participating or engaging in any activities within the IBL.’
Back in December 2024, the Associated Press reported that there are around 530 people on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, including 96 foreigners. That is according to data from the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections.
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