Indonesia arrests Australian man for smuggling cocaine to Bali
Indonesian authorities arrested an Australian for smuggling cocaine on the tourist island of Bali, a charge that could carry the death penalty, officials said on Monday.
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The Southeast Asian country has extremely strict drug laws, and convicted smugglers are sometimes executed by firing squad.
The 43-year-old man from Sydney was arrested on Thursday, after police raided his rented house near Kuta beach, a popular tourist spot, and seized 1.7kg (3.7 lbs) of cocaine in 206 clip plastic bags, 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 Britain, Adityajaya said.
Bali police officers display cocaine as evidence. Photo: EPA-EFE
'He is suspected of importing or distributing class 1 narcotics,' Adityaja told a news conference in the provincial capital, Denpasar. 'He is threatened with the death penalty or life imprisonment.'
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