A former college basketball player who was arrested in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2025 after authorities said he was attempting to smuggle drugs into the country is in an Indonesian hospital awaiting a conclusion to his case.
Jarred Shaw, 36, has been at the Indonesia National Defense Center Hospital in Jakarta after being incarcerated at the Lapas Kelas 1 Tangerang prison, since July 10. He is being treated for Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease that, according to the Mayo Clinic, causes swelling and irritation of the tissues in the digestive tract. It can lead to pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, and malnutrition.
Shaw was originally detained by Indonesian authorities on May 7, 2025, on suspicion of drug trafficking after
receiving a package of cannabidiol (CBD) gummies from Thailand. He has maintained his innocence throughout, saying he took them only to combat symptoms of Crohn’s disease.
The seized gummies weighed 30 ounces – less than 2 pounds. After Shaw's arrest by the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police in the lobby of his apartment complex, the Indonesian Basketball Association banned him for life, and Shaw's deal with the Tangerang Hawks was terminated for breach of contract, which prohibited him from using illegal drugs. Police also found 132 pieces of cannabis candies containing Delta 9 THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) during a search of his apartment.
Shaw was convicted in December 2025 and sentenced to 26 months in prison after facing a possible death sentence. Authorities said Shaw was 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.”
Donte West, an international criminal justice advocate based in Kansas City, Missouri, helping Shaw, says he is increasingly frustrated by the lack of resolution in the case, the lengthy hospitalization, and a possible paperwork discrepancy.
“I don’t want to alarm anybody, where they rule that it’s a punishment and he goes back to the Indonesian prison. I am assuming as a collective it would be easier to get him out of the hospital and back to Dallas, Texas,” West told USA TODAY Sports.
West says Shaw, who played college basketball at Oklahoma State and Utah State, is doing well considering the circumstances, but still needs critical care, adding that for some reason, Shaw is being billed by the Indonesian government for his hospital stay.
According to documents and emails reviewed by USA TODAY, the U.S. Department of State sent a letter to Indonesian authorities on Aug. 18 stating that the Embassy was ready to assist with repatriation, or returning a citizen back to his country of citizenship.
West says Shaw has not yet received that letter. In another correspondence dated Sept. 18, the State Department again said it was ready to help Shaw return home. Shaw and his representatives have not seen that letter either. But six days later, the State Department asked Shaw if the Indonesian authorities had provided proof of amnesty or a repatriation letter.
In May, a State Department spokesperson told USA TODAY Sports that it takes its commitment to assist Americans abroad seriously, and that the “U.S. Embassy in Jakarta is providing consular assistance to Jarred Shaw.”
Along with a possible return home, the Forgotten Prisoner, an advocacy website founded by West which helps people "serving disproportionate cannabis-related sentences through legal intervention, clemency, humanitarian advocacy, and policy reform," wants a meeting with Department of State officials to discuss the case.
A native of Dallas, Shaw averaged 14.2 points per game in his final two seasons with Utah State, earning second-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors before the Santa Cruz Warriors selected him 18th in the 2015 NBA Development League draft. He has played in Japan, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-basketball player now in Indonesia hospital as seeks prison release
