A player could face d3ath in Indonesia for trafficking marijuana candy
Tangerang Hawks center Jarred Shaw faces a minimum of six years in prison.
In the worst-case scenario, Shaw could face life in prison or even the death penalty. According to data from the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, more than 500 people are currently on death row in Indonesia, most of them for drug-related offenses. Several traffickers have even been executed by firing squad, although the last time that happened was in 2016, according to the Associated Press.
Police raided Shaw’s home after following a tip from airport customs officials, who spotted a suspicious package the player had received. It contained candy laced with marijuana, a substance that was decriminalized in 2024 in Thailand, where the shipment originated, but not in Indonesia. Drug laws there are among the strictest in the world.
Banned for life from the Indonesian League
The Tangerang Hawks have terminated Shaw’s contract, and the Indonesian League has banned him for life. “We do not tolerate drug use by players, managers, or anyone on the field. There is no place for drug users in the world of basketball,” said Budisatrio Djiwandono, the league’s president.
Shaw, a Dallas native, played at Oklahoma State and Utah State before turning pro and beginning a career that has taken him all over the world: the G League, Turkey, Tunisia, Mexico, Japan, Thailand, Uruguay, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Indonesia, where he arrived in 2022 and had played for three teams.