Report: Former Oklahoma State, Utah State player Jarred Shaw arrested in Indonesia, could face death penalty

Taking your career overseas can come with its own risks, going to a new place across the world. Jarred Shaw is now the latest story of that, with the situation he finds himself in over in Indonesia.

Per USA Today, Shaw was arrested last week in Jakarta, Indonesia, after authorities found Delta 9 THC, in the form of cannabis candy, in his apartment there after they were shipped to him. It began with customs officials with his charges now being “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,” per the report.

This charge could come with at least a six-year sentence, per the report. It also states there is the possibility of a life sentence, or even the death penalty — which hasn’t been done in about a decade now — if convicted due to the country’s strict drug laws, per the report.

“An offense involving candies containing Delta 9 THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) implicating basketball athlete JDS was handled by the Narcotics Unit of Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police,” Ronald Sipayung, the Soekarno-Hatta Airport police chief, said, per the report.

With his arrest, the Indonesian Basketball Association has also turned on Shaw. The Tangerang Hawks, whom he was most recently playing for, and who reports allege that Shaw was to share the cannabis with, have ended his deal with the team for breach, while the chairman of the league has since banned him for life.

“We do not tolerate drug use in basketball. Whether players, officials, court personnel or anyone involved with narcotics or similar substances,” Chairman Budisatrio Djiwandono said. “PERBASI fully entrusts this matter to law enforcement.”

A Dallas native who attended Carter High School, Shaw was a former four-star prospect as a Top 125 recruit back in the 2009 recruiting cycle. He’d go on to commit to Oklahoma State to start his collegiate career.

Shaw spent five seasons in college and played in four, with two years apiece at Oklahoma State and Utah State. He’d appear in 102 games, 57 being starts, for the Cowboys and Aggies with 8.5 points (50.8% FG) and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Shaw didn’t play much with the ‘Pokes while in Stillwater, but would post 14.2 points (51.1% FG), 8.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks after transferring to Utah State. There, he earned one honor as a Second Team All-WAC pick.

Since then, Shaw would play a professional career in the G-League and overseas in countries like Turkey, Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, and Lebanon. That most recently landed him in Indonesia in the in Cisauk, Tangerang Regency.

Not everywhere else in the world has similar laws to those in the United States. Those severe ones related to drugs in Indonesia now have Shaw in a very severe, if not possibly life-threatening, situation, depending on how he’s found.