Mataram - An Indonesian court has sentenced a German man and a South African woman to life in prison for attempting to smuggle drugs into a resort island in two separate cases, a judge said on Friday.

Rolf Oskar Josef Schweikert, 57, was caught trying to smuggle 3.7kg of hashish into the island of Lombok, just east of Bali, in October, as he arrived on a Silk Air flight from Singapore.

He was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday at the district court in the city of Mataram, judge Pastra Joseph Ziralluo told AFP.

Kathlyn Dunn, 28, was arrested arriving on a Silk Air flight from Singapore two days before the German, attempting to smuggle in 2.6kg, said the judge.

She "was given the same sentence" on Wednesday, Ziralluo said.

However, he stressed that the court had not made any connection between the cases and the pair were tried separately.

The two were both charged with "attempting to import drugs", but they avoided the maximum sentence of death by firing squad.

Customs officials found hashish in the lining of Schweikert's suitcase worth over R6m, while Dunn was caught with crystal methamphetamine worth R4.5m.

Indonesia enforces some of the stiffest drug laws in the world.

In March, it resumed executions after a hiatus of several years when a Malawian drug smuggler was put to death.

AFP