Two British men have been sentenced to a combined 20 years in prison for smuggling cocaine into Bali, Indonesia. Kial Garth Robinson, 29, from Chichester, received an 11-year sentence, while Piran Ezra Wilkinson, 48, was handed nine years. Both were also ordered to pay a fine of approximately £45,000 or serve an additional 190 days in jail.
Robinson, a landscape gardener, was arrested on 3 September 2025 at Bali International Airport after customs officers found 1.3kg of cocaine in his bag. He was charged with drug trafficking, importation and possession under Indonesia's strict drug laws. Prosecutors stated that Robinson had been recruited by a man named Santos, who instructed him to transport the drugs from Barcelona to Bali.
Both men told authorities they met a week before the arrest, and Robinson's lawyer, Robert Khuana, said his client accepted the sentence, claiming he had been “trapped in a syndicate scenario”. Wilkinson's lawyer also confirmed his client accepted the sentence, describing the event as a lesson for the future.
In December 2025, a video showed Robinson being brought into Denpasar District Court in orange prison overalls, where he made hand gestures including a thumbs up and a peace sign, reportedly saying, “Give them a smile. Give them a thumbs up.” Prosecutors revealed that Robinson had been given $3,000 (£2,250) on 1 September to pay for flights from Barcelona to Bali and onward to Thailand, where he planned to return a week later. They noted this was his first time carrying narcotics into Indonesia or any other country.
Drug trafficking carries severe penalties in Indonesia, including the death penalty. Bali uses firing squads for capital punishment, but has not executed anyone since 2016, when four men were put to death for drug offences.
