Australian man arrested in Bali over alleged drug smuggling could face death penalty
An Australian man arrested in Bali for allegedly smuggling cocaine could face the death penalty if charged and convicted, local authorities say. The 43-year-old man was arrested on Thursday after police raided his rented house near Kuta Beach. Authorities seized 1.7kg of cocaine along with a digital scale and mobile phone, Bali Police Chief Daniel Adityajaya said. The arrest followed an investigation conducted by Bali Police anti-drug surveillance teams, who reported the man had received two suspicious packages sent by mail from England, Adityajaya said. "He is suspected of importing or distributing class 1 narcotics," Adityaja told a news conference in Denpasar. "He is threatened with the death penalty or life imprisonment."
Police on Monday presented the accused man at the news conference. He was wearing an orange detainee jumpsuit and a buff mask, with his hands handcuffed. The man did not make a statement. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it was providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Bali. "Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment," a spokesperson said. Indonesian authorities allege the man had ordered a motorcycle taxi driver through the Grab online service on 21 May, to pick up two packages at a post office in Denpasar. The driver was told to hand the two packages to a motorcycle taxi driver from another online service, who was ordered to deliver them to the Australian man's rented house, Adityajaya said.
Indonesia has some of the world's strictest drug laws. Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015, sparking a diplomatic incident with Australia. They were among nine Australians arrested in 2005 for attempting to smuggle heroin out of the Indonesian resort island. In December, Indonesia returned to Australia the five remaining members of the drug smuggling ring who had been serving life sentences in the Southeast Asian country. The men, who have not been pardoned, are banned from entering Indonesia for life. Renae Lawrence was released in 2018 and Tan Duc Than Nguyen died of cancer the same year.
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