SALT LAKE CITY – At the start of 2025, former Aggie Jarred Shaw was a star player for an Indonesian professional basketball team, the Tangerang Hawks. By the time the season ended, he was a prisoner in Lapas Kala Prison in the same city he once played for.
In May of 2025, Shaw was arrested after police raided his apartment building because of a tip about a suspicious package being sent to him from Thailand. The package itself contained a large amount of cannabis gummies, and this became the basis for Indonesian officials to charge Shaw with drug trafficking.
Due to the stringent drug laws of the country, however, a trafficking charge carries a sentence of death.
Shaw and his lawyer, International Legal Advocate Donte West, argued that the drugs were for personal consumption to treat Shaw’s Crohn’s Disease, an affliction that causes chronic swelling of the bowels.
The argument successfully reduced his sentence to just 26 months in prison. However, even 26 months may prove too long according to Shaw’s doctor.
According to a medical document provided to KSL, Shaw’s doctor claims the lack of available treatment, combined with the poor conditions of the prison, may erode Shaw’s health to a potentially fatal point if left untreated.
In a video call from the prison, Shaw said he wants to draw the attention of the US government to his case for assistance.
Ultimately, though, he says he just wants to come back home, see his mom and get the medical treatment he needs.
Former Utah State basketball player pleads for return to US after arrest in Indonesia
